Almost Lover
by Aya Kazuki
Summary: Sai's quite clueless when it comes to love—and even worse in the pursuit. But he's got the help of the finest shinobis in Konoha (and Suna)…so wooing Yamanaka Ino over is a piece of cake, right? (Post 699 / Before 700) Pairings canon! (SaixIno, SasuxSaku, ShikaxTema, NaruxHina)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Summary**: Sai's quite clueless when it comes to love—and even worse with the pursuit process. But he's got the help of the finest shinobis in Konoha (and Suna)…so wooing Yamanaka Ino over should be a piece of cake, right?

* * *

Two and a half years has passed since the Fourth Great Shinobi War and the nations slowly and surely rebuilt themselves and each other. Though the change and improvements were measured, they were undeniably stronger with solid alliances.

With bonds, came friendship, and then peace.

The youngsters of Konoha are of no exception. With peace and quiet, they had a bit more time for themselves and each other and building relationships.

With that, Sai recently decides he needs to catch up on all the ranges of emotions he has been missing. The ex-Root member learns of friendship, brotherhood, and family through his team (and extended former member, reinstated). And with the emotions he's learning, _love _and the joys of _dating_ are suddenly on top of his list.

After the war, the chance to 'hang out' with the boys of his age came along more often and somehow he found a place amongst Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji…and even Sasuke. It took them awhile to warm up to him—and to Sasuke, but eventually, they got used to each other's tendencies.

When Naruto bounced up to them, high as kite because scored a _date _with Hinata, Sai felt a little nudge inside his chest. _He _wanted to be dumbly lovestruck like that too.

When Shikamaru slunked away from their training; muttering troublesome because he was going to be late for a _date _with Temari, Sai felt that ping again. _He _wanted to be stupidly devoted like that too.

And when Sasuke sighed in defeat; allowing Sakura to take hold of his head on their strolls, Sai literally thought he was about to have indigestion. _He _wanted to be disgustingly cute in public like that too.

So when he voiced his eagerness of dating and finding _true love _with the _apple of his eye_, he met with several reactions—none of which from his mental library signified _goodness_. Chouji burped, Shikamaru twitched, Naruto choked, Kiba blanched, and Sasuke scowled.

He probably should've listened to them then, but now he is head over heels and too far in to back out. But the pain—the pain of being in _like _with someone is unfathomable. How is something that's supposed to be _enjoyable_ hurt so much?! Where did he go _wrong_? He's pretty sure his nose is busted by the way he's breathing through his mouth now.

Didn't they say 90% honesty in a relationship, the best policy? Sai is so sure he made that comment on the 90% basis. Ah, he can barely see out of one eye at the moment. But from what Shikamaru has taught him—_never _talk back and _never _resist. It will be worse resisting or retaliating than to just take the beating lying down.

And thus, he let his body go limp for the onslaught.

* * *

xXx

* * *

Naruto and Kiba wince as the scene unfolds before them. Shikamaru sits up straight, eyes alert, and body ready to run for the hills, if required.

Even the Uchiha heir had the mind to pale a bit as he watches the thrashing happening in front of him. The sound effects are enough to make him lose his appetite.

Chouji sees his moment from the distraction and goes for the rest of the meat on the grill.

"C-Chouji, how can you _eat _at a time like this?!" Naruto squeaks, his eyes never leaving the homicide about to happen. The one-sided public flogging manage to even put the blonde Hokage-to-be off his food game.

"He deserves it," The bigger teen states between bites, "You _never _say the 'F' word!"

"Che," The lazy genius turns away from the scene and leans on the table, propping his chin up with his hand, "Troublesome."

"But he looks like he's in _big big _trouble! We need to do something!" The hyperactive boy is basically dancing in his seat, but out of fear for his own well-being, he isn't leaving the safety of their barbeque table.

"Uh…Naruto, actually," Kiba taps the blond on the arm, "Doesn't…doesn't it look like…"

Five pairs of eyes hesitantly watch the body fly past them and slam into the nearby wall with a sickening thud. All five of them cringe at the impact.

They watch the assault curiously and the surviving Uchiha finishes Kiba's statement, "…he's enjoying it…"

Sai flies through the air in front of them again. This time, he turns in midair to the five teens seated at the table and waves; his perfected smile graced with blood and dirt—and _tears_?

"OH MY GOD," Naruto bangs on the table, "He's hurting so much, he's _crying_! We have to help him!"

"He's not exactly fighting back at all…" Kiba muses and Sasuke quietly agrees with the Inuzuka (and he almost _never _agrees with dog-breath boy).

The Uchiha clears his throat, "He likes it."

The Akimichi heir continues to eat and Shikamaru watches the ex-Root member fly through the air like a ragged doll with mild interest.

"How do _you _know? You into that shit too?"

Sasuke frowns at the brown-haired boy. This is exactly where his friendship with the Inuzuka ends. "No. It's obvious dumbshit. He's smiling like an idiot being beaten to a pulp. He's a masochist."

"It takes one to know one." Kiba smirks a tad too suggestively and Sasuke nearly chidori-ed his ass out of the restaurant if not for the sudden loud crashes nearby them.

The second time the ex-Root member flew by them, he turns to them with a mocking smirk, "How's dinner, my dickless friends?"

"WHAT?!" Naruto stands up abruptly from the provocation, "I'll show you!" The rest of the boys blanch at the thought. No one wants to see _anything_ Naruto has to offer in that sense. Well, maybe with the exception of Hinata.

Not quite sure what he is about to do, Naruto stands there awkwardly. He is _not _about to show _that_ and Sai uses the moment of confusion to run behind the perplexed blond.

"Dammit Naruto," Ino snarls, "Get out of the way!"

Before Naruto could react, a giant fan shoots through the air and slams into his face. With the blond doubling over in pain, Sai is once again exposed and the furious mind-walker grabs him by the collar.

"_You_," She roars. Ino is quite close to the boys now—actually she's basically standing on top of their barbeque table. Chouji moves his plates aside and away from her path.

Shikamaru picks up the fan at their feet, which Naruto is still laying in pain next to. The shadow user blinks up and across the room at the sand kunoichi. The woman is leaning against the door frame and shrugs, smirking—obviously not the one that threw the fan, but the one that provided the weapon. Temari is apparently incredibly interested in the misfortunes of their male counterparts. Beside her, the weapons mistress stood, also with a mirror expression of childlike awe.

Sai, the unfortunate soul, beams at his blonde goddess. The said-goddess is currently in the process of strangling him with his own shirt, "Hello Beautiful." He manages say before she drop kicks him out the window.

With their sixth member lying on the ground outside, all affiliates raise their hands in a signal of peace and surrender. Ino glares at each and every one of the boys before she stomps off the table and out the door in a huff. Tenten shakes her head pitifully, holding in her laughter as she follows the angry blonde.

Temari swoops over to pick up her fan, smirking at the stunned boys, "That was a good show," She steals the untouched plate with Sai's portion of the meal and saunters off.

"Uh…" Kiba stares at the empty space before jumping out of his seat, "Not paying for the damage!" And dashes out of the restaurant.

Shikamaru sighs, chewing on his toothpick, "You two take him to Sakura." There goes his paycheck. He'll have to ask Ino to repay him for all the damages…when he gathers the balls to. Somehow the two blondes click like peas in a pod and he can't even utter a word without them both shoving unsaid things down his throat and making a scene. Ino and Temari are like fire and fuel. And Shikamaru is just one lucky bastard to be best friends to one and the boyfriend to the other.

Naruto nudges Sasuke as they make their way to the battered teammate on the road, "Hey hey, Sasuke-bastard. You do the talking okay? Sakura-chan will hit you less hard."

"Moron," Sasuke glares back at his so-called best friend, "She'll _yell _at me more."

"But at least she doesn't pound your ass to dust!" Whining ensues, and Sasuke _despises _whining.

"That's because she's too scared of messing up my face."

"OH MY GOD, YOU BASTARD. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO VAIN."

"…Hey…morons…" Sai mumbles quietly as the blond slung an arm around him to keep him up. Even when battered and bruised, Sai refuses to let anyone's ego get ahead of them, "Your voices make my head hurt."

Sasuke glares at the other dark-haired male but daintily picks up a rogue tooth on the road with a napkin. Most likely Sai's tooth. They'll have to have Sakura examine him and then implant the tooth back in. Pretty gnarly and gross, but if his girlfriend can do such a procedure, Sasuke can stomach holding onto his teammate's loose tooth.

The painter currently dons one visible shiner over his left eye, a bruised lip, missing at least one tooth and a ton of blood—but he continues to smile.

"Should I ask her to stargaze tomorrow then?"

Naruto and Sasuke shake their heads in defeat. Perhaps, they think, he'll grow out of his Yamanaka Ino obsession and fall for a more reasonable woman—maybe a civilian.

But that thought quickly vanishes.

No normal person can put up with Sai's words and expressions, and no normal person can put him in his place either. Maybe he is fated to be with the temperamental mind-walker.

Sasuke shrugs at Naruto, a silent agreement. _Let's just see how it goes_.

"That might be better. Let's get you cleaned up first, buddy." The blond laughs and he hauls Sai down the dimly lit street.

* * *

Well, hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know how it's going! (And if there's anything I can improve on!)

Thank you!

~ Aya Kazuki ~


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you **Ame no Megami**, **mako-chan**, **Intania**, **indigoooo**, and **cruzzy93**, and everyone who has read, followed, and favorite this story!

To—**Mariam Hiwatari**—It's actually your SaixIno story (Beautiful Eyes) that inspired me to write one too!

To—**truelyanimelover06**, **pepsicolaa**, **miimiipon**—I was pretty skeptical about the SaixIno pairing going canon but after awhile, it made me more curious. Seriously like, _how _did they even manage to get together?! And since this pairing doesn't have as much limelight, I figured, why the heck not. I'll try my hand at it. Ino is by far my favorite female character. Though I'll be focusing on SaixIno, there will be dabbling in SasuxSaku, ShikaxTema, and NaruxHina.

So thank you again for reading this! And do clicky on the review-y button to let me know how you feel about it and if there's anything I can improve on!

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

* * *

It's quite peculiar, Sai thinks, how time has passed so quickly after the war. How things are not mentioned, but never forgotten.

The first time he called Yamanaka Ino _gorgeous_, he didn't think she was. But he didn't think she was ugly either. She looked like any other girl to him then. Sai had just been trying to be _friendly _by the book definition of giving nicknames. And since Sakura had dutifully beaten his ass into the ground and given him a good lecture about his ill-mannered honesty, Sai called Ino gorgeous by default.

It made her so delighted that he kept that nickname solely for Ino—just to see her face light up like the sun. Sai was—and still is—quite interested in the candid blush on her cheeks and how her eyes glitter when he called her gorgeous.

That had went well until she found out about his tendency to say the opposite of what he thinks towards women because of the thrashing he incurred from Sakura. Fighting back tears with an angry, scrunched up face, Ino had forced him to call her strictly by her name. The expression on her at that time also interested him. But it didn't make his heart race quite like her smiling one. On the contrary, the look she gave him made his stomach clench.

Sai started a habit of watching her react to certain situations when he could and everything he's said to her since then was with truthfulness. With the war ending and the Five Nations settling peacefully, the dark-haired ANBU had _a lot _of loitering time. And it hadn't been long until he started yearning for the same attention from her.

Sai had learned from Hinata's shoujo mangas what love is supposed to feel like. The words on the paper described exactly how he feels about Ino and honestly, the girly books did not do the emotions any justice.

The door slams open, "Hey, the nurse told me y—WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!"

All three inhabitants of the examination room quickly cover their ears, wincing from the deafening shriek. The last time their female teammate scolded them at that earsplitting pitch, all three boys had to use Tsunade's special chakra-infused ear drops to rebuild their eardrums. The ear drops are specially formulated for shinobi _in the battlefield _who suffer from loud blasts nearby. Provoking Sakura to yell is the equivalent of stepping on a landmine and having it go off right beside them.

The pink-haired medic flies towards the middle subject, "S-SAI! ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU HURT?!"

"Gah, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whines, hands still over his ears as he starts to yell back, "OF COURSE HE'S HURTING! THAT'S WHY WE CALLED YOU TO HURRY!"

"DON'T YELL AT ME YOU UNRELIABLE IDIOT!" The medic turns over to the blond and lands an even punch into his gut, sending Naruto flying. On the other side of Sai, the Uchiha heir pales, bracing for impact.

On cue, Sakura turns to her boyfriend, an odd smile gracing her features, "Sasuke-kun, what happened to Sai?" She asks mock coyly. Somehow, the other two are untouched and the third look like he had been ran through a dryer.

The dark-haired teen clears his throat in uncertainty but answers quickly, "Ino." He didn't want the same fate as the reckless blond lying on the ground for the second time in the night. Of course, Uchiha Sasuke isn't _scared _of Haruno Sakura. He's not scared of his own girlfriend. That's quite ridiculous. He just didn't want to deal with bothersome things that have nothing to do with _him_. And lately, this Sai having a change of heart and pursuing Ino is causing Sasuke quite a headache because of his girlfriend's motherly nature.

"Oh, Sai. Oh, Sai," Sakura's eyes glisten as she turns towards the newest member. She sighs and strides over to the sink, pulling out the equipment required to clean and heal Sai.

The Uchiha heir narrows his eyes at his girlfriend's tone. It's been quite awhile from when he's had a peaceful moment with Sakura without her prattling on about _Sai and Ino_. When _Sasuke _showed up a month ago after a two month expedition with three broken ribs and a few popped joints because of an ambush, Sakura basically slapped a bandage on him and called for the next patient. No remorse whatsoever. And she's been haughty at him since then. Yet, she shows _sympathy_ towards Sai. Nope. Not in _his _lifetime will Sasuke ever lose to Sai.

"He told Ino he admires her figure, that she should eat more and that she's not fat," He states monotonously, loving every moment of ratting out the ex-Root member.

They can see Sakura's eye twitch slightly from the revelation.

"Sai."

Hearing Sakura's reprimanding tone, the Uchiha smirks.

"Yes, ugly?"

Sasuke's smirk disappears and he scowls at the other dark-haired male. Did Sai want to lose another tooth?!

The medic sighs, "You can't go around saying things like that to Ino." The pink-haired girl understands Sai's nickname for herself as a joke for old time's sake—but towards others, it is still the same.

"Why not?"

"Because that's insensitive! You told her to stop eating because she's getting fat!"

"No, I wasn't."

Sakura pauses, quite irked with Sai's tactless comments and responses, "You know we all caught on your reversal of things you say."

"With the exception of Sakura's nickname. Heh heh heh," Naruto sniggers from the other corner of the room and was silenced immediately by the glares from the couple.

"I wasn't reversing my thoughts concerning Ino-san."

All three blink at him and Sakura gapes slightly.

"Sai," She states softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "What are you trying to say?"

The black-haired teen squints up at her through the dried blood on his lids, "I'm saying I have been honest when it concerns Ino-san."

"For how long?"

Sai shrugs, "Sometime."

"Just Ino?" All three boys wince at the squeak in her voice. And two of the three wish to get out of the room real quick before Sakura starts yelling—or worse, fangirling.

"Yes."

"Why?" Her knuckles crack and all three boys eye the monstrously strong girl hesitantly.

"Because she interests me."

"You can't go around playing with other people's feelings like that, Sai. You never know when Ino will snap and scramble your brains," Sakura chides, knowing full well of the blonde's newly acquired techniques. The mind-walker had been instated under Ibiki's tutelage as soon as the War was done.

Sai purses his lips in contemplation before arguing back, "But I'm not joking around with Ino-san. I'm serious. She interests me and I would like to date her."

"Just because you're _interested_ in her, does not mean you can play with her feelings like that."

"I'm serious, you ugly hag."

"And _I'm _serious too, you moronic tactless bastard. Leave my best friend alone."

Sakura's hands start to glow and Sasuke and Naruto flinch slightly, waiting for the second assault of the night.

The dark-haired boy sighs, "Then, what should I do with these emotions? The books do not explain well what to do with unrequited love."

But instead of sucker-punching Sai into oblivion, Sakura pauses and raises her hands over his chest and starts to heal him. The medic peers at him curiously. She seriously had thought about throwing him through the window but his last statement made her inquisitive.

"Tell me more about your _emotions_, Sai." _And why you think it's unrequited love_, inner Sakura ponders.

Sai looks at her doubtfully but starts, "Well, at first I got this odd stomach sensation. I thought it had been indigestion since dickless over there—" He gestures at Naruto, "Took me to Ichiraku's four times in a week. But then I realized it happens every time anyone mentions Ino-san. My heart beat feels like it is racing and sometimes it's difficult to breathe." Sai pauses to see if anyone was still paying attention and he met with several reactions. Though Sasuke is still scowling at him, Naruto and Sakura are looking at him with a glazed awestruck expression.

"The books classify those sensations to be either an anxiety attack or feelings of attraction, according to Hinata-san, the physical manifestations I've been feeling are of falling in _love_."

In the background, he can hear Naruto sputter, "When did you talk to Hinata-chan about that?!" But the blond boy is duly ignored by his peers.

The ex-Root member stops and stares at the medic expectantly after his explanation. Wordlessly, Sakura gapes at the once-upon-a-time emotionless boy. She feels a swell in her chest and smiles warmly at him. He's gone so far in terms of relationships since they've met.

"And so it is," She murmurs as she finishes up his bruised ribcage.

With great irritation, Sasuke frowns again. So _Sai _gets the mystical palm treatment for a few scratches and _he _gets a stupid band-aid for broken ribs?! She had been so gung-ho about him since their academy days, even when he defected, and when he decided to come back. But lately, Sasuke feels, Sakura isn't as attentive as before—not that he's complaining or anything. Nor does he feel like he has _any _type of competition. Nope. None whatsoever.

It's just…since he's starting to open himself up more, he'd thought Sakura would do the same and instead, she seems to have retreated. And it's quite _exasperating._ What Sasuke has pinpointed the shift in attention to is the drama between Sai and Ino.

Thus, his dislike of his doppelganger replacement teammate increases.

The healing process takes barely three minutes since the medic has gotten so adept at restoring health. And she turns to the other two, "Take him home. I've got some errands to run after my shift."

Whooping loudly, Naruto latches onto Sai and attempts to haul him off the examination table, excited to leave the confined room with what is a ticking time bomb (Sakura).

"I can run the errands with you," Sasuke murmurs and the other two boys snigger (mostly Naruto but from the squint in Sai's eyes, he's laughing too).

The blond mouths silently to the healed boy, "He's so whipped!"

"It's okay. I'm actually going to visit Ino," Sakura smiles at him as she puts the equipment away; "I'll see you later."

The Uchiha heir scowls at the two boys, Naruto now snickering loudly. Sasuke can't help but feel something off with the distance Sakura has started to put between them.

"Alright," He admits defeat and moves towards the pink-haired girl and gives her a peck on the cheek. If she's mad at him for some reason, he might as well tread careful waters too. "I'll see you later."

Sasuke turns towards the two boys in time to see Naruto hand-motion to Sai a hand-whip movement and the ex-Root member mouths back, "Did Sakura take his balls?"

He glares at them again, but the glare lost its effects a long time ago and they ignore him.

They are _so _dead. And the Uchiha swears if he gets kicked out of Konoha this time, it'll be a unanimously valid reason—and he's sure Yamanaka Ino will agree with him too.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Whee! Chapter 2 finished!

**-Aya Kazuki-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!

**Author's note:** This chapter is focusing mainly on Ino…since you're all wondering why Ino's acting that way towards Sai, right? Haha other than that…as I'm writing this, I'm falling in love even more with this couple—If anyone knows of an active SaixIno community out there…please let me join 3

Thank you everyone that reviewed/favorited/followed! To **Hitori, Ame no Megami, mako-chan, **and all the **guests **for input and encouragement!

To—**trulyanimelover06**—Thank you! I am trying to stay true to the storyline as much as possible…though I haven't seen the recent movie that came out…if you have and there are discrepancies, please let me know!

To—**PumpkinPie** and **miimiipon**—Hope you also enjoy SasuSaku fluff! But definitely, SaiIno fluff as soon as Sai gets his sh*t together!

To—**indigoooo**—If you ever, ever stumble across any other SaixIno goodness…please PM it to me. Haha

To—**Fujiko-the-cute-08**—Do you know if the new series will be manga or anime…or both?

To—**Wyckedfayth107**—Thank you! Actually, Sai's pretty fun to write…he's pretty simple you know? Whatever he thinks of pretty much comes right out his mouth. Sasuke is a bit more difficult to portray. I'm glad you like it! Come over to the SaixIno siiiiide!

To—**BlueFairy10 **and** rawr**—Hopefully the rest of the story doesn't disappoint! Thank you!

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

* * *

Sakura can barely contain her excitement as she barrels her way down the street and skids to a stop in front of a flower shop. Banging on the door loudly, she shifts enthusiastically in spot, "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! LET ME IN!"

The door rattles open and an obviously peeved Ino glares at her, "JEEZ, it's late! Can you be _any _louder?!"

She pushes through and grins at the blonde, "Is everyone here? I have _news_."

Ino rolls her eyes and closes the door, following the bouncing pink-haired female up the stairs to her living quarters. "We've _been _here. Waiting on your sorry ass."

The medic laughs animatedly and rubs the back of her head, "Sorry, sorry. The evening shifts are a drag and the night reliefs are always late. But feed me and I have _things _to tell."

Upon entering the upstairs living area, the two are greeted by the three other girls sitting on plush cushions and flipping through various books and magazines. Hinata glances up at them and smiles, waving at Sakura. Somehow, the War scared the stutter out of her—or something. The girl grew a backbone and now keeps even the trouble-making Uzumaki Naruto in check, "Good evening, Sakura-chan."

"Yo." The weapons mistress waves leisurely.

"Good evening to you all too!" Sakura is _almost _dancing on the spot. This must be what Naruto feels on a daily basis, she thinks, and there's no way she can live every day with this type of energy. Her heart feels like it's going to give out.

Temari smirks at her entrance and crosses her arms over her chest, "I'm going to assume this is good news, so spill it already."

The other blonde makes her way to the kitchen to retrieve the leftovers for the medic but also grins, repeating after Temari, "Do tell—and don't you dare leave anything out."

Sakura giggles and blushes, "Well…I did exactly as you told me to, Temari." And the Wind user nods in agreement. "And I started to give Sasuke-kun the cold shoulder, but not tell him _why_."

The girls watch her explain in fascination and even Hinata murmurs, "That is _amazing, _Sakura-chan."

"Thank you, Hinata!" She turns back to the audience, "Because of that, Sasuke-kun's super weirded out and he even _offered to run errands with me and walk me home tonight_!" Sakura finishes enthusiastically and all the girls '_Ohhhhhh'_ in unison.

"He deserves it!" Ino slaps the kitchen counter, laughing at her fellow comrade's troubles, "Idiot can't even figure out what he did wrong."

Temari joins in the amusement and offers the pink-haired girl a high-five, "Let him figure it out. It's one thing to be forgetful but he's taking too much for granted."

"But," Sakura purses her lips; she's been trying so hard not to cave in when he gives her the lost look, "How long should I keep this up?"

"Until he figures it out."

"But what if he _doesn't_?" Not that she's questioning his intelligence…

The two blondes shrug and Ino adds, "Or you can beat your birth date into his brain. He'll never forget it again."

"It's impressive you know," Tenten quips from her perch in the corner, "How the almighty Uchiha Sasuke can _forget _his girlfriend's birthday like that."

The two blondes shake their heads in unison again at the statement and the older girl grins, "That bastard may be genius shinobi but he's relationship clueless."

"Speaking of emotionally stunted geniuses…" Sakura pauses, not sure if she should bring the topic up in a large group.

How should she start it? "Sai came to the hospital earlier tonight."

Sakura earns an _'Hmph' _from her best friend and an "I hope he's in a coma and stops talking forever."

The pink-haired girl sighs. This isn't going to be as easy as she hopes. "Don't you feel a little bad, Ino? That's about the fifth time he's been in for treatment in the last four months for non-mission injuries."

"He should've shut up after the third time." Ino sticks her nose in the air haughtily as she hands the other girl the plate of food and sits down on a cushion. "And no, I don't feel bad _at all_. Don't ruin my good mood with that idiot."

"Actually, he confessed to me."

"_WHAT?!_" The other three girls chorus loudly, with the exception of Hinata, whose eyes widen comically. Inner Sakura smiles smugly at the disbelief on the blonde's face. _Gotcha_.

"Wait, wait. I meant to say, he confessed to me that he likes _you_, Ino!"

This time, it is only Ino exclaiming loudly, "_WHAT?!_"

Sakura sighs again and finds a seat nearby, "Don't you like him back too?"

"W-What?! NO," The mind walker sputters and the other three girls watch the debate with sparked interest.

"You _so _do. You like Sai."

"No!" The blonde presses her lips together tightly.

Sakura crosses her legs, "What, don't tell me you fell for Sasuke-kun again. He's mine, you pig." Picking a fight with Ino is usually the only way to get the blonde to answer anything honestly.

"I think your ego's inflated to the size of your forehead," The Yamanaka scoffs back, obviously provoked now, but still evading the question.

"So you're telling me after blushing like a schoolgirl when Sai called you _beautiful_ didn't faze you at all?"

"T-That's because it was different from what I usually get called!" She sputters sporadically, trying to persuade the other girls on her side. The Sand kunoichi and the weapons mistress stare back at her, skeptical of the blonde's defense. The Hyuuga heiress smiles widely at her and Ino sighs. She's losing the battle.

"And then you _forced _him to go on a date with you. The poor boy was so unsure he took Naruto along for the terribly planned outing."

"I asked him out because I thought he was cute! There wasn't anything else to it! And Naruto made the date for the worse, okay?! I regret every minute of it now!"

"Then you nearly cried when you found out he wasn't truthful," Sakura smirks back, "If you didn't at least like him one bit, you wouldn't have been so pissy about it."

"He lied to me to my _face_! My feelings were hurt!"

"So you're saying you have feelings for him!"

_Tap tap tap_

"NO! I'm saying—argh! FINE! FINE!" Swinging her long blonde hair back, she jumps to her feet and assumes stomping loudly to clearly express her unhappiness about admitting defeat, "I did end up falling for him, okay? Somewhere along the lines he stopped being Sasuke's replacement to me. But that was before I found out Sai's _one big fat liar_!"

Sakura rolls her eyes at her friend's melodramatics, "Sai just has some issues expressing himself and he's still green at the do's and don'ts of making friends."

_Tap tap tap_

"You're just biased because you're his colleague. And these are my _feelings _you're letting your moronic teammate play with." Ino can feel her face heat up.

"_Because_ I'm his teammate, I know for a fact Sai isn't being dishonest to you," Sakura exhales, "He hasn't been lying to you at all!" She can tell the blonde's eyes start to mist over but the other girl shakes it off quickly.

"Oh yeah?!" Ino plods across the room towards the window, "Just the other day, I heard him telling Karin the new haircut looks good on her!"

Instinctively all the girls shake their heads; Sai really isn't giving Sakura much to work with. Karin had been fussing over her terrible lopsided hacking job Suigetsu made on her head. The two were arguing over something trivial and Suigetsu accidentally chopped the redhead's locks. There was no way of getting around the haircut evenly without having her mirror Lee's bowl-cut.

"I have my pride too, you stupid forehead! I refuse to be _duped _twice by the same asshole."

But the wheels are already rolling in the pink-haired girl's brain.

"If Sai starts to be tactlessly frank and honest to everyone with what he thinks, will you consider dating him? At least give him another chance?"

_Tap tap tap_

Ino turns around sneers at the group, "Yes. Exactly. I want Sai to tell the truth and the whole truth to everyone and then I'll take another chance on him." _Hah goodluck with that. _The blonde smirks to herself. There's no way Sai will revert back to that. The fake remarks are too far ingrained in him, and he's too concerned with making friends to sacrifice all that just to have an opportunity to date her.

She didn't matter to him—the thought makes her eyes sting, but she blinks it away. She isn't important enough for him to throw everything else away for.

Up until recently, he paid her no heed. Sure, she can sense him nearby her plenty of times—Ino's an adept sensor—but perhaps they were just heading in the same direction since he never took it upon him to talk to her and she promptly ignored his presence.

Then he suddenly took an offensive stance about seven—or maybe eight months ago. He would show up and spout blatant lies to her. At first, she thought it was a prank, and dully disregarded his advances. And then it got _persistent_ and she got annoyed.

Is he playing with her feelings? Did he finally realize that she likes him?

It may be a desire of hers to love and be loved back with equal passion and unadulterated honesty but Ino is a Yamanaka—and Yamanakas are known to be intelligent and _prideful_.

The timeline matches up around the time Sakura and Naruto became serious with Sasuke and Hinata. And since his comrades are in relationships—he thinks he can flatter her into submission with transparent deceit to also match his group of _friends_? Sai can spout all the verbal garbage he desires but her pride will not allow her to succumb to such lows. No matter what her heart says.

_Tap tap tap_

Ino yanks the window open, a smoldering glare directing towards the shinobi hanging outside, "_WHAT? _It's my _weekend off_."

The shinobi smiles cheekily at her, chewing on his senbon, "Yeah, yeah. But Yamato—_we_—need your help with something." He looks past her through the window frame and winks at the other girls in the room.

"Find someone else to do it. I'm busy," The blonde tries to close the window but Genma sticks an arm out lazily and blocks her effort.

"Can't do," He continues to chew, knowing Ino is entertaining the idea of stabbing him with his own senbon, "It's something only a _Yamanaka _can do."

The blonde scowls at her predicament. She can either stay in and get berated for denying her feelings towards the artist or get dragged out of the comforts of her home to god-knows-what. Sighing, Ino turns towards the male still hanging outside, "Alright let me get dressed real quick." At least she can run from this for a bit.

"No need," He smirks and makes a grab for her waist, hoisting her right out, "It's an _emergency_."

With a yelp, Ino flies right out the window and down the street. The girls can hear her holler, "_I'll be back! Don't lock me out! Genma, you idiot!_"

As soon as the window slams shut, Sakura turns to the other three, "I'm serious. Sai's _fallen _for Ino and the girl's being too pig-headed to admit she still likes him. Please help me get them together." She's nearly begging.

The brown-haired girl smirks, "I don't know, Sakura. That would mean I'll lose my single-girl buddy."

"Tenten!" Sakura pleads, exasperated and Tenten grins back.

"I think it'll be good for Ino too," Hinata adds quietly and the other blonde shrugs.

The Sand kunoichi stares at Sakura for a bit before speaking up, "Why are you so eager on setting Ino up with Sai?"

She smiles back, knowing full well of the growing sisterly relationship between the two blondes, "Ino's done so much for me already. Now I think it's my chance to help her. I can't let her pass up a chance with a good guy—mostly when it's mutual between them. I'm his teammate. I can vouch for Sai." Sakura pauses before adding.

"And can you guys _imagine_ Ino dating anyone else?" The medic had put quite a bit of thought into the possible bachelors in Konoha before asking the others. And no one seems to be up to par to the task of dating Ino. Sakura already knew of the desolate possibilities—but she needs the others to see it in the same light.

Temari blinks, "Inuzuka?"

"I think that's asking for the Fifth War to happen if they ever get in a fight," Tenten points out.

"You're only saying that because you've got something for dog-breath."

"S-Shut up! I _do not_." Tenten snaps back, "What about Shino?"

"He's already engaged to be married," The pale-eyed girl whispers and the others stare at her.

"W-What?" Sakura can barely hold in her hysterical laughter. Of all people, _Shino _is closer to marriage then all of them, "Hinata, I'm not going to even ask."

"Lee?" Tenten tries again.

"Are we really even considering him?" Temari throws back and the girls disagree in unison again. Ino will slaughter him on sight as soon as he opens his mouth to yell something ridiculous. The mind walker's patience has been wearing thin and tolerance has tanked.

"What about a civilian?" She tries a third time.

All the girls pale in accord, imagining the carnage that would be the unfortunate civilian boy who ends up dating Ino and upsetting her for reasons untold. No civilian boy can stand up to Ino's temper—or even withstand her gruesome beatings.

"Ino and Sai-san make a cute couple, and I think he's sincere too," Hinata quips softly as she flips through the magazine and Sakura remembers how Sai had mentioned his talk with the Hyuuga.

Sakura adds, noticing the realization dawning on the two reluctant older girls, "And as you can see, Sai tolerates and _survives _Ino's rage. They're destined to be."

Tenten smirks in defeat and shakes her head, "Ill-fated but fate nonetheless." There goes her Friday night drinking buddy. But it's for the greater good, so who is she to complain?

"Oh why the hell not," Temari kicks her legs back, leaning into the seat cushions, "So hurry up and tell us what to do before she comes back."

Sakura smirks as she nods at the unanimous agreement from the girls.

_And realizes that I paid Genma a week's salary to distract her…_

Inner Sakura fist punches the air and celebrates. _Oh hell yes! Ino's not going to even know what hit her!_

* * *

xXx

* * *

_Knock knock_

Sai rubs his eyes groggily. He just managed to usher Naruto and Sasuke out half an hour ago and he is _so tired_, all he wants to do is sleep. He's been battered and he's bruised. And then he'd been lectured by _Naruto _(of all people) for another good two hours about _popularity _amongst girls and then the dipshit attempted to dress him up like Sasuke to prove his point—much to both of the dark haired boys' chagrin.

The only thing the three boys found out from the attempt is that _Sai _can very well pass as Sasuke's cousin (who somehow survived the massacre)—and neither of the two subjects ever _want _the similarity exposed.

He plods towards the front door and swings it open, not caring to check to see who is knocking.

"Yes?" Straining his voice, Sai wonders if he's sounding _irritated_ at the moment.

"Hello, Sai!" Two pairs of eyes stare back at him and he groans inwardly.

Before him, Sakura and Shikamaru's _troublesome_ girlfriend, Temari stand—both grinning ear to ear.

His stomach drops and his legs feel numb.

_Is this fear?_

* * *

xXx

* * *

Heh heh heh…oh Sai…

Oh yeah, I threw in some KibaTen…and maybe more…

-Aya Kazuki-


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** No, I do not own Naruto!

**Author's note:** **HAPPY NEW YEARS**! Whoohoo, here's the next chapter! I apologize for not having any SaixIno interactions yet! Still building it up! I'd like to thank everyone that's reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! It really gives me confidence to write (knowing that my writing isn't poor and my plot isn't terrible…haha) So, just a short expression to gratitude to everyone that took the time to leave me a little note of encouragement, it is very much appreciated!

Sections typed completely _in italics_ are past events being reminisced on.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

* * *

Ino grimaces as she drags the huge pots outside the doors of the shop, careful as to not knock around and damage any of the flowers. She had gotten back late last night and the girls had already left. There was a note from Sakura telling her to join the girls for a hot-springs date after the shop closes and the blonde grins. It's been a while since they all had the time to gather together and relax like that.

The interrogator had been ready to murder the jounins last night for calling her out for such an absurd reason. She's a _mind reader_, not a goddamn fortune-teller. How the hell was she supposed to 'read the future' and tell Yamato and Raido if they should hit or stay in a game of _blackjack._

She blinks up curiously at the noise around her. The village seems quite _lively _today—and it can't be because of the settling in June weather.

There is something odd in the air and she can't put her finger on it.

The mind-walker sighs as she thinks back on the night's conversation. Her feelings for Sai are strong and she can't deny it. The boy showers her with compliments—no matter how ill-fitted they are—and it made—still makes, actually—her swoon. She can't help how her chest clenches and her stomach lurches at the sight of him smiling duly at her.

Ino hadn't told anyone, but she had cried that day after confronting him. She had cried like she did when news of killing the rogue Sasuke had reached her ears back in her early teens.

When the Uchiha returned, the blonde realized that the other boy had completely taken over what space she had originally given Sasuke. Ino had smiled and welcomed Sasuke back happily, but she no longer yearned for his interest.

Instead, she desires attention from the other emotionally deprived genius. And it's become a game of deceit to her. As much as she loves hearing those compliments from him—she also hates it because they are lies. It angers her so much that she just wants him to be truthful to her—to just say it to her face that he thinks she's ugly and he has no interest in her, so she can perhaps move on.

Yet, no matter how close to death she pummels him, he comes back, smiling as always with a flattering remark on his lips.

Is Sakura telling the truth then?

Billboard-brow wouldn't _lie _to her, right? Maybe it is time to set aside her pride and brush away that chip on her shoulder. Sai has proven his worth and reliability time after time.

High pitched giggling can be heard to her right and she tunes her exceptional hearing towards it.

"I saw it, Ami-chan. I think he may be even _hotter _than Sasuke-kun."

"No way! But he doesn't _fancy _girls, right?"

"Who cares, maybe I can turn him right around. I swear, I'm going to the president of _his _fanclub instead! Plus, I think you only think that he swings the other way because of what he normally wears. But you should see his outfit _today_."

"Really?!"

"Yep. _Totally _hot."

The two girls scuttle off and Ino cocks her head in curiosity. _Who _in this village rivals Sasuke? How is there a new hot guy that the interrogator isn't _aware _of?

More girls pass by her, heading in the opposite direction, also chatting excitedly.

"_I _fell in love at first sight with him _first_."

"Whatever! Last week, _I _ran into him and he told me my yukata is quite cute!"

"Ugh, you whore. You've already got your sights on Sasuke-kun. You should just leave this one to me."

"No way. Sasuke-kun's taken by that she-hulk. I heard this one's available!"

Her ears twitch and so did her inquisitiveness. Man, if there's a hot new boy-toy in town, this may just give her the break she needs! An older pair of women passes by and Ino notices the blush on their faces also.

"You saw it too, right? The two at gate duty together?"

"Mmhm," The second woman laughs gaily, "One is the Uchiha boy, right? Who's the other boy? _He_'s just as good-looking! I mean, if I was younger and unmarried, I'd definitely go for him too."

_Gate duty?_

The blonde blinks. Uchiha Sasuke tending to _gate duty_? That is usually left for chuunins, certain lazy jounins who don't feel like taking higher ranked missions, and punishments—since guard duty is as boring as watching paint dry.

But for Uchiha Sasuke, an _ANBU_-ranked shinobi to be doing gate duty is quite questionable. And who's the _other _boy with him?

Ino pauses.

_Wait._

With Uchiha Sasuke being reinstated, some leaders of Konoha are still weary of his allegiance. Unless the boy is outside of the country, exploring on his own—all missions related to Konoha and posts taken inside the village are done under supervision of _Team 7_.

She screams to no one in particular as the pieces fell in place at Konoha's new mystery hot boy-toy.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

xXx

* * *

Gossip travels fast.

In shinobi villages, it travels even _faster_.

So without a doubt, the news reached the ears of one particular lazy genius as he lies on the grass field, feigning sleep while his buddies talk his ears off. No wonder he hasn't seen Temari around much. That girl is off making some trouble of her own—and trouble that he did _not _want to be included in.

_And I thought the girls are bad_

Naruto chatters hyperactively besides him, dirt and blood marring his features—but otherwise left _unscathed_. On the other hand, the Inuzuka is covered in blood, scratches, and dirt.

"Dude, you should've seen it, Kiba," The blond yells enthusiastically and Shikamaru winces. They're not _deaf_; they're sitting right beside him!

The fanged boy grumbles back, "Man, that's so _not _fair." And his over-grown pup barks unhappily in response.

"LIFE ISN'T FAIR, BUT IT IS YOUTH!" Their newcomer prances in, yelling at the top of his lungs and throwing the other three boys off.

Kiba sighs and rolls his eyes, "Do you even know what we are talking about, Lee?"

"OF COURSE!" The super eyebrow-endowed boy winks at them, "I HAPPEN TO PASS BY SAI-KUN AND SASUKE-KUN ON THE WAY HERE! WHO KNEW THEY ARE ACTUALLY RELATED! IT IS SO GOOD TO KNOW THEY'RE FAMILY!" Lee bellows and laughs loudly.

Around the boys, the other dawdling ninjas catch onto Lee's drift and glance over curiously before chatting amongst themselves. Naruto eyes the other shinobi evilly before he drags Lee off to spar and spout _more _bluffs loudly.

The Inuzuka slaps himself on the forehead. Their green-tights wearing friend is an idiot—and an idiot that is only going to help the cause of the other idiots. He can already imagine the amount of gossip and story twisting that is bound to happen and he looks over at the boy lazing around the grass for help.

"Oi, Shikamaru. You think this is a bad idea too, don't you?" He scratches the back of Akamaru's ears.

The strategist opens his eyes and sighs, "Whatever. Just don't get caught up in it."

But he knew it is already too late. By theories of correlation and six degrees of separation, Shikamaru is smack dab near the center of attention. There is no way to get around it and he sighs in defeat. He'll wait for the storm to come to him first.

* * *

xXx

* * *

The collar is too tight and he pulls at it, his hands shaking from nervousness because of the sudden increase in attention. His usual sleek hair is mussed and his lips tighten into a straight line as he tries to focus on the task ahead.

A squeal echoes in the background and he resists the urge to silence it. His head is throbbing from confusion and it is not helping that his current cohort is glaring daggers at him.

"_Make sure from now on, no more lying. You'll only tell the truth—exactly what you're thinking, okay? Or I'll pound your ass to dust and Temari will blow the dust away. Clear?"_

_He nodded frantically, quite afraid of her wrath and the sadistic grin on the other girl's face. Agreeing is always better than disagreeing._

"_How is this going to help me win Ino-san's favor?" If anything, it may make her hate him more. It may make the entire village hate him more, "Wouldn't that just put me on other people's shit-list too?"_

"_Do you care about what other people think or what Ino thinks?"_

_Sai shrugged, "Just Ino-san. I could really care less about the other shit-for-brains out there."_

"_Well, Ino doesn't believe that you're being sincere to her. So now you've got to be honest to everyone. Got it?" She put her hands on her hips, "And if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say it if you know it's going to get you in trouble!"_

"_But what if I want to say it?"_

"_Then that's on your head!"_

_He nodded in comprehension._

"_And Sai?" Sakura frowned at him._

"_Yes, hag?"_

"_Why do you look like Sasuke?"_

_He caught the cheshire smirk creeping wider on the Sand kunoichi's face now._

"_What, Sakura?" The blonde snickers, "Thinking of keeping him for yourself now? Honestly, I wouldn't blame you. This one seems quite teachable compared to the other one." She lifts her chin at him and Sai stepped back, shuddering._

_Shikamaru's woman is scary._

But it confuses Sai quite a bit. He's not sure how Naruto's plan and Sakura's plan are going to mesh well…maybe he should've told Sakura about it then but he had been too busy taking down notes groggily.

He'll just have to try his best at executing _both _plans simultaneously. In actuality, two people willing to help him out is better than one. And common courtesy is to never decline the assistance offered.

More squealing arises and whispering follows. The two dark-haired boys try their best to ignore the noise gathering behind them and they both think that it may have been better to take to the roofs instead of the main road that morning.

They are shinobi, for goodness sakes! Where did the idea come to that they should just _stroll _through the streets like that? They should have _known _better.

Now the sounds presume giggling and Sasuke frowns at the other boy, clearly pinning their current state of affairs on the ex-Root member. Somehow last night Naruto managed to persuade the Uchiha heir in handing over some unworn clothes for their hopeless teammate. Before that, the blond had ransacked Sai's closet to find only a few shirts that are _not _midriffs.

"_The reason you don't get girls is because they think you swing the other way, Sai! Look at these midriffs! You dress like Ino and Anko put together!"_

"_I'm not trying to get any other girls. They're all hideous."_

"_That's not the point! We're going to make Ino JEALOUS!" Naruto bounced and wiggled his eyebrows as he reached for Sai's civilian clothes and wrinkled his nose in disgust, "This outfit is really ugly, Sai."_

_Sasuke snorted. And the pot calls the kettle black._

Their idiotic blond teammate's _wonderful _idea in catching the attention of Yamanaka Ino—is exactly how it sounds. Straightforward and as reckless as the Hokage-to-be, his one and only idea is to appeal Sai to the masses and somehow, Naruto states, Ino will get jealous and declare Sai as hers.

Ever since Uchiha Sasuke was reinstated, somehow his fanclub also came back together. With Sai holding some resemblance to _Sasuke, _the blond decides that the Uchiha losing some fangirls to their new teammate shouldn't be too much of a problem. So why not play off the idea from the two boys' similarities that they could be long-lost relatives?

And with that—Naruto had invited himself over to Sai's before training to play dress up with the artist. After he was satisfied, the blond struck a dreadful pose and took off.

Sai was about to roll over and go back to sleep when he remembered the gut-wrenching promise he had made to the girls also.

"_Go pick up Sasuke tomorrow at 8:00AM and come to the gates together for gate duty."_

"_But I never do gate duty…" And neither does Sasuke. Technically, gate duty for their positions was deemed as a punishment—and Sai did not see how he (or Sasuke, even) should be punished._

"_You do now." Temari sneered at him and he stopped in his tracks._

_How does Shikamaru live with this?!_

"_Look," Sakura interrupted, "You caused quite a bit of damage yesterday at the restaurant. Now, the benevolent Hokage is willing to overlook that spat, so this is your retribution."_

_Okay, that was understandable. Now was part of his sentence of watching paint dry with the stick in the mud too?_

"_Why is Sasuke getting punished too? Or is it part of my penalty to babysit him?"_

_Sakura looked miffed and Temari grinned again, "Sai, when is Sakura's birthday?"_

"_March 28th…" He rattled it off automatically. He had read somewhere that it is customary to know your friends' birthdays and give them gifts then. Sakura's birthday had been two and a half months ago and if he remembered correctly, he gave her a mirror and some make-up to help her look less ugly. Which only resulted in a good bashing._

_The ANBU wasn't sure how the question answered his question, but talking back to the Kazekage's sister was basically a death sentence, or a castration._

_The blonde girl huffed and crossed her arms, "Even Sai knows! At this point, I think you should just take this one and give the other one to Ino to thrash around."_

_Sakura sighed again and Sai watched in curiosity. The girls were talking about him like an object and it's quite fascinating. Take him? And give the other one to Ino? Who was—Ohhhhh._

_Hah._

He did exactly as told and the other boy did _not _seem happy about it at all. The Uchiha has been glowering fiercely at him. It delights Sai quite a bit, knowing that someone else is also suffering with him. At least he had a brother in times of darkness.

Will it help his friendship with the other boy genius if Sai clues him in on his current situation?

The ANBU rocks back and forth on his feet, debating the dilemma.

_Nahhhh_

Maybe Sai will milk this a little more. After all, it isn't every day that he has the upper hand on the sharingan user. If he makes conversation with Uchiha Sasuke, it may shine some light on the other boy's thoughts—and it'll help Sai study the different aspects of relationships to make sure _he _doesn't end up like this. But all in all, the ex-Root member enjoys toying with the stoic boy, mostly when the she-hulk and the blond mess aren't around to run interference.

"Ne, don't you think we look alike, Sasuke?" He grins at the other boy stupidly and the Uchiha heir resists the urge to smash his doppelganger in the face.

"No."

The answer is quite vehement and peaks Sai's interest, momentarily forgetting about their surroundings, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you are angry at me."

He's answered by a shocking glare.

"I wonder if I glare like you, we'll look even more similar."

"…"

"People really do think we look alike. I think so too. And it's kind of gross." He gestures to their current comparable appearances. Sasuke dons a black short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha logo on the back and long black slacks. Standing beside him is Sai dressed in a black, high-collared and long-sleeved button up and matching black slacks. His forehead protector wraps around his right arm instead to allow his slightly longer hair more freedom to frame is face.

"Sai."

"Yes, brother?"

"Shut up."

Gate duty is boring. Gate duty with this one is even _worse. _And since Sakura has given him the green light to say whatever he wants…he's going to go ahead and do just that.

"Sasuke?"

"_What_?"

"You should probably take that stick out of your ass. It's starting to warp your face."

Sai barely dodges the flames.

* * *

xXx

* * *

Uh-oh! Can Sai ever _not _cause trouble?! Hopefully I'll get to more Sai and Ino interactions in the next couple chapters! Sorry also for the confusing last part-jumping back and forth between Sai's memories. Basically, he's already at gate duty with Sasuke and he's going over last night's events and how he ended up in that predicament. Haha...and then goes and messes it up even worse...in usual Sai-ness.

What do you guys think so far?!

-Aya Kazuki-


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto!

Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading this story! I'll keep this short and sweet—I'm lost to what everyone's techniques are now and I am terrible at writing fight scenes…so bear with my little insertions of it. Haha. Otherwise, happy reading! And if you're wondering about their ages—they're all around 21-22 right now for the usual group

* * *

Chapter 5:

* * *

Ino snaps her head up, sensing the acute spike in chakra. As soon as it appeared, it also dissipated. But the chakra signals are distinct and the kunoichi knows exactly the two they belonged to. Rushing towards the front, she swings the door sign to 'Closed' and dashes out—not caring to lock the store.

_What the hell is going on?!_

It is quite unusual to feel such elevated chakra signals nearby the village gates. There isn't a third or even fourth aggravated energy emitting from the area so it confounds her as to how the other two railed so high. Squabbles within village gates or around it are punishable to confinement if the arguing parties fight using techniques _above_ chuunin level unless the opponents are a threat to the safety of the village and citizens or they are fighting within qualified training grounds.

This law came about after Naruto had a quarrel with Kiba (that started with whom Hinata cared for more and evolved to whom was more man-tastic) and ended up leveling the village's main sake supply store. At that time, Tsunade had just finished her six months of sobriety to rebuild the alliances and was in the process of drinking holes into her brain. So with the destruction of the sake store, the Hokage was _not _pleased. Viciously enraged, was the current term. She drunkenly embedded the two arguing boys into the Monument Mountain with one supersonic punch. And since then, Tsunade made it illegal to have personal conflicts reach past chuunin level if they were not at the safety of the training grounds.

Putting more energy into her feet, she soars over the rooftops and madly towards the front gates, not caring as her orange sundress flaps haphazardly high. She skids to a stop at the side of the gates entrance. Ino whips her head to the left and right, noting the grand amount of sideliners, civilian and shinobi. Noticing the small crowd of jounins crouching to one side, she rushes over.

"Genma!" She wheezes; it's been too long since she's moved that fast. "What's going on?!" Ino gapes around confusedly at the cheering crowd. The area in front of them—on the outer side of the gates is littered with dying flames and splashes of ink.

The two subjects encircled are in the process of playing cat-and-dog; both tossing aside their usual weapons and ninjustu attacks and now solely focused on beating the shit out of each other with their fists and feet. Her brows crease in worriment.

"Oh." Genma lazily waves her to sit down. "We're placing bets. What do you think?"

"_WHAT?!_"

"We're plac—"

"I HEARD THAT." She snarls at the group of jounin, none of which look at all surprised by her outburst. "Why aren't you guys _stopping _them?!"

Chewing on his senbon, Genma shrugs nonchalantly. "They're not breaking any rules."

"OF COURSE THEY ARE!" She gestures at the duo in time to see Sasuke's chakra-enhanced fist crater the grounds.

Raido pats her on the shoulder, "Well, technically speaking they're not using any of their ninjutsu techniques and only using good ol'taijutsu. And Uchiha isn't even using his Sharingan, so they're obviously _not _trying to kill each other."

"Nope, not at all!" Izumo and Kotetsu chime in happily.

"That's not the point!" She is exasperated at this point. The men don't care. Ino looks around wildly, trying to find someone to take her side.

"So, what do you say, Ino? Whose side are you on?" Genma winks at her and Ino forces the blush to subside. She's _not _taking a side in this. Even though a small portion of her does wish for Sai to beat the crap out of Sasuke…but that's because the Uchiha has been an asshole to her pink-haired friend. And nothing more to that…right?

"I'm not taking part of this ridiculous bet!"

"That's no fun." The snake lady waltzes up to them, two chuunins in tow and slaps down a wad of cash. "I place my bet on Sai losing."

"_W-What_?!" Ino sputters again, not really wanting to believe the audacity of the other shinobi. Her stomach did a couple flips and a wandering thought in the back of her mind wants to scream a counter bet to Anko.

_There's no way Sai will lose easily in a hand-to-hand battle!_

But that isn't the important matter at the time. And she already did say she's _not _going to take a side in this. Though if it is a ninjutsu battle—definitely she can see where Sasuke will have the upper hand since Sai's higher leveled summoning techniques require some assistance. However, they seem to have regressed to taijutsu (a bit more enhanced) and she's seen Sai move around enough to know that he's quite versed in that type of battle even if he doesn't rely on it mainly.

Huh.

When has it that she's _noticed _so many things about Sai?

Shaking her head, she pushes the thoughts aside. She's been thinking a bit too much about him in the last day or so and it's becoming a little unhealthy. He riles her up—just the thought of him. But she can't help but feel like it's not entirely all _anger_ at him that she feels. A bit of it, she thinks back now, may have been delight that she's the one receiving his attention and not the other whore-bags in the area.

Harrumph. Like any of those other girls can _catch _his eye.

But that's beside the point at the moment.

The mind walker glances back towards the scene to see Sasuke grapple Sai by the collar of his shirt as the ex-Root member twists away from the grip. The chakra-laced grasp the Uchiha has rips right through the shirt material and Sai lands on a handstand and turns for an upward kick to the other man's chin.

It didn't exactly look like Sai is losing. It looks almost like a standstill between the two fighting. And as much as Ino didn't want to admit it—she kind of didn't _like _the idea of Sai losing to _Sasuke_.

"See." Anko smirks as she gestures at the two men fighting. "Sai's definitely going to lose his shirt first."

Sasuke flies to the left and lashes out again to Sai's throat. He misses the artist and grabs the remnants of the other man's shirt only to effectively tear it down the middle, exposing the ex-Root's well-chiseled abs and much-less seen pecs.

Half of the female population (and some male) watching swoon at the revelation. The other half starts to cheer for more.

"Lose his _shirt_?!" Ino squeaks, her face turning a delightful shade of red as she realizes what the older woman is talking about. "No no _no_! Stop this, this instant!"

"Jeez, Ino-chan." Anko sneers at the madly blushing interrogator, whom at the moment is trying to cover her face with her hands. "Don't be such a prude, and don't ruin everyone else's fun too."

"I'm not—NO! STOP THIS!" She shrieks, to no avail. Her screams to stop are drowned out by the recently mandated cheering squads. Ino manages to catch a glimpse of Sai tackling Sasuke before the crowd erupts in another fit.

They are watching the two boys duke it out and hoping to see more _flesh_! This is _ridiculous_! The blood rushes to her head and she continues to keep the amusing scarlet blush over her cheeks. She—no—them—they shouldn't be ogled at like some _show_.

Though it seems like a pretty good one…She admits she's never seen Sai _completely_ shirtless. But for her own honor and for _his_—she didn't want _anyone _else to see this! A foolish thought flies through her consciousness—_Only I can see him like that!_

Her mouth feels dry and she squashes that thought immediately. Of course not! WRONG! She just didn't want Sai to be exposed to the general public like meat!

_Very delicious meat though…_

Ino whips towards the lounging men again, trying to win some to her side. "Why are _you guys_ watching _this_?!"

Part of her brain is screaming for them to stop.

_Sai._

_Shirtless Sai._

_Shirtless Sai sweating._

_OH MY GOD STOP IT_

Kotetsu smiles impishly at her. "We're here to see all the pretty ladies flocking to this. I don't think I've ever seen so many girls in one place." He sighs happily in unison with Izumo and Genma.

"Twenty bucks on Sasuke." A monotonous voice sounds through and Ino raises an eyebrow at the girl that just spoke.

"_Hanabi_-_chan_?!" The blonde gapes at the teen once she realizes.

The dark-haired teen shrugs back and cross her arms as her eyes linger on the two men in the near distance, a tinge of pink on her pale cheeks.

"Are you counter-betting your _sensei_?" Anko scoffs, a little bit happy inside that her studious student is participating.

"I'm a chuunin now. You're not my sensei anymore." The Hyuuga heiress lifts her chin at the older woman defiantly. "Plus we see enough of Sai's abs. I want to see _Uchiha Sasuk_e's."

Ino's jaw drops at the statement and her eyes trail over to the two. Sasuke manages to throw Sai off him and to the gate, holding the ex-Root up by his neck against the wall.

_WOW. Now take the rest of Sai's shirt off too, please._

_WAIT. STOP._

She shook her head vehemently. The thoughts need to _stop_. Ino twists around, facing the other women. "You're checking out _Sakura's _boyfriend. That's so _shameless!_"

Hanabi shrugs again, ignoring the older woman but Anko smiles devishly. "Actually, _I'm _checking out Sai. And for all we know, he's _still single_ and up for grabs."

Her blood boils slightly at the statement and the words flew out of her mouth before she could resist. "No, he's not!"

"Oh?!" Multiple pairs of eyes dart to her direction inquisitively.

"I-I meant he's not _up for grabs_ like an object!"

She receives a handful of eye rolls at her statement. Before she can form another retort, a gust of wind blasts her and a familiar blonde bounces to her side.

"Well, look at this." Temari smirks, leaning casually up against a slouching Shikamaru—who looks like he wanted to be anywhere but _there_.

"Temari! Shikamaru!" Ino cries in happiness at her arriving friends. "Please get them to stop!" She's not sure why she's _so nervous_ at the predicament—it doesn't even concern her.

The Sand kunoichi blinks at her and then blinks at the two men still brawling. "Why?"

"_Why?!_" She nearly shrieks on the same level as Sakura.

"It's been quite boring with all this settling peace and stuff so there aren't many missions available. This is actually _gold_."

Ino sputters incoherently. She did not expect her _friend _to not take her side—and knowing Shikamaru, he'll be totally unhelpful in her plea too.

"B-But but!"

"But _what_, Ino? Aren't you usually down for a good man-brawl?"

Temari has a point and she couldn't argue with the busty blonde. Why is it that she is so opposed to this particular fight? Raido was correct—the two are not breaking any laws and nor did they look like they wanted to _kill _each other. Potentially harm and/or maim, but not _kill_.

Her eyes follow Sai's fluid movements as he dips and dodges Sasuke's offensive strikes. Both boys had been duking it out for awhile from the sweat glistening down…down…down…

_Dammit Sai_

She's never took the time to appreciate how well built he actually is. Almost every shinobi out there is fit so she's never really _checked_ him out—aside from his totally amazing boyish good-looks.

_Snap out of it, Ino! He's a good for nothing liar!_

"You're drooling."

"Am _not_." She hisses at Temari, but never taking her eyes off the artist. Ever since Sakura's unhelpful forceful coercion of the admittance of her feelings to _Sai_, her mind has been plagued by the what-ifs. And it hasn't even been 24 hours! Curse that meddlesome woman!

What if she just gave him a chance?

It's not like he doesn't have a fan club—he pays them no attention.

But then he also spouts empty words to them too.

Ino slaps herself on the cheek for the comment, gaining a few curious gazes her way.

"You don't like what you see?" Temari pretends to inspect her flawless nails, egging the other woman on. "I mean, if you really wanted to stop them, I'm sure you could have already. But you haven't taken a step into the ring. Enjoying the scene too much?"

Before she can whip up a snarky reply to the Sand kunoichi, another large gust of wind knocks her off her feet—unprepared for the incoming party.

"_GAH!_"

Another voice squeals loudly as a heavy body rams into her side, making her flop chaotically onto the ground. Forgetting momentarily that she is currently donning civilian clothing—and a dress for goodness' sake, she somersaulted to avoid landing awkwardly on one arm.

"I'M SO SORRY INO!" Naruto screams hurriedly and scrambles away, hiding behind Hinata.

"Whoa, Ino." Another male voice whistles from the same direction and the blonde glares up heatedly, her face burning. "You've got nice choice in lingerie—_and _a nice ass."

Ino reaches for her hidden kunai, ready to carve out Kiba's eyeballs for the lecherous statement.

"_Kiba_." She snarls at him, still a bright shade of crimson. She isn't sure who else had seen her in that moment. Before she could lunge an attack at him, she hears Akamaru let out a loud howl—one that usually meant the enemy is coming.

"OH SHIT." Kiba turns his head away from her and his eyes widen before he quickly jumps into the air and to the left onto the top of the gates with a horde of ink lions hot on his trail.

Ino whips her gaze towards the _only _person she knew who could summon ink lions that quickly and notices the slight grimace on Sai's usual perfectly smiling face.

Beside him, Sasuke also stood still, a light shade of pink and studying the ground as if the answers to the universe are written down there.

The crowd also went quiet and the mind walker finally realizes—everyone there had seen her dress flip up, exposing her brightly colored yellow, lacey daisy underwear.

Blue orbs scan the crowd slowly as the words came out, her tone dropping the June weather about 20 degrees. "This ends _now_. _Leave._"

Everyone scrambles to their feet and away as quick as possible—shinobi and civilian alike aside from the few who didn't know better, or didn't care for Ino's temper.

Against better knowledge, Sai chooses to smile broadly at her. "I think you have a nice ass too, Ino-san."

"Shut up." Ino glares hotly at him, not in the mood for his games.

But his comments will not be deterred. "And the underwear is cute. I think it suits you."

"Shut _up_." Her face feels like it will melt from the burning sensation in her cheeks. Ino isn't sure if Sai is doing his usual lying stunt—but Sakura _did _say he stopped it already. Now she's torn in how she actually feels if he really does think her ass is _nice_.

From the distance, she could see Sasuke grimace and whisper through clenched teeth at the other man. "Don't say that out loud. Do you want to be _beheaded_?!"

Sai turns to the other man instead—totally ignoring Ino now. "Why not? I was telling the truth."

She raises an eyebrow at that. _The truth?_ Her heart thumps in her chest and flutters. So he's really complimenting her? Even if it is a perverted-kind of way—he's still being _honest_? Has she been the one that hasn't been direct with her feelings then?

"It doesn't matter if it's the truth or not—you're only supposed to say what's going to save your ass!" Sasuke hisses back.

Ino curses her amazing hearing. This feels so wrong on so many levels to overhear. But it pisses her off even more that they're completely ignoring her situation—or the situation they put her in.

"But it is a compliment?"

"You have to read the mood, you idiot!"

"Ah, timing, right?"

"_Yes_. Now let's get out of here quickly while we still can _walk_."

"Oh. Uhm. But isn't that going to make Ino-san angrier?"

"Do you usually ask this many questions?"

Sai makes a move towards the top of the gates as Sasuke tries to slink away but Ino steps right between the two and grabs their arms, crushing it with strength nearly rivaling Sakura. They visibly pale, the same thought running through both their minds.

"You two." Ino stares blankly at both of them. "I'm taking you two to Sakura." Having the medic berate the two for a bit will give the blonde a little more time to sort her thoughts and emotions out.

Sasuke and Sai lock eyes—their differences seeming to not be very different at all now as they pale further.

Being on the receiving end of Ino's temper is dreadful to the mind and soul. Being on the receiving end of Sakura's anger is horrifying for the health of the physical body. And being on the bad side of _both _simultaneously is like a death wish.

In an amazing effort of teamwork, they manage a flawless body-switch henge and before Ino could blink even once, she is holding onto a crying and battered _Naruto_ and the other two are nowhere in sight.

* * *

xXx

* * *

The brown-haired jounin bares his teeth like a cornered animal—quite metaphorically and literally. Kiba wishes he had speed over strength at that moment in time. It didn't help that he had ran into Rock Lee first, who out of 'gentlemanly honor', alerted the other two of the Inuzuka's whereabouts.

Even in strength, there is quite no way he can overpower _and _outrun both Sasuke and Sai at the same time. This is quite possibly the _worst _tag team to be caught under.

He's pretty sure they're using him as a scapegoat to defer Ino's rage towards. And he is _not _about to have his brain become a pincushion. Or worse—like the poor civilian boy Ino caught cheating on her last year. She'd mindfucked him to the point where he thought he was the frog prince for three days and lived in a swamp trying to kiss unsuspecting girls.

He shudders at that thought.

So Kiba decides to call it truce…

"Oh, uh. Hey guys." He straightens up, dusting off his coat and smiling playfully at them. "Looks like you guys found me! Hahahaha." The Inuzuka tries to laugh it off, noticing the dark aura emitting from the other two. Lee can be seen trying desperately to hold onto Sai's summoning scroll.

"Inuzuka." Sasuke snarls, the cold fear he felt earlier is replaced by rage—the Uchiha is going to get an _earful _once Ino gets around to blabbing to Sakura about the mess today.

On the other hand, Sai stares at Kiba, an odd wave of something overcame him and he pouts. "I don't like you." _For seeing Ino like that_—is what he wants to finish the statement with, an odd tightening in his chest erupts.

The Uchiha stops and turns towards him, blinking curiously at the frank statement that diarrhea-ed out of the other ANBU's mouth.

Instead of looking confused like Sasuke or shocked like Lee, Kiba wails instead. "_What_?! You don't like _me_? _BUT YOU LIKE EVERYONE_!" The Inuzuka heir is going to use this moment to weasel out of the death trap.

_Think, Kiba, think! What would take their minds off killing you!_

He blinks.

_Oh duh. Sai's a clueless nutcase and Sasuke's a stubborn asshole._

"That's not the point, Inuzuka." Sasuke bites back.

"Because of _me_, you got to see Ino-chan's lovely ass—which is further than you've _ever _gotten in the last few months." He shamelessly points at the artist, smirking at Sai before turning to Sasuke. "And _you _need to man the fuck up and apologize to Sakura. Fuck me, just because you two are having girl problems—don't bring me into it too."

"Don't talk like you know what's going on." The Uchiha snarls, button definitely pressed.

Sai freezes in place, unsure as to how to respond to the statement that was directed at him. He furrows his eyebrows before speaking slowly, choosing his words carefully. "But…I read that it is impolite to…uh…"

"To what?" Kiba folds his arms across his chest, feeling a bit more satisfied turning part of the table around. "To be forward? Man, it's because you're all trying to suave and give underlying messages! Women like forward and _brave _men that just grab them and kiss them into oblivion!"

Okay, maybe he's slightly over exaggerating but Sai is soaking up his words like a dry sponge.

"I should grab her and kiss her?"

"_Yes!_ Then sweep her off her feet and take her to go star gazing with you! Haven't you heard _actions speak louder than words_?"

"No…"

Lee finds this moment to chime in. "Unless those words are _sung _to her. Then it's even better!"

"Singing?" Sai looks skeptical at this. "I don't think I can—"

"Nonsense!" Lee prances forward, slapping his hands down on both of Sai's shoulders. "You should show up at her place with a song, sing it from your heart and _then _whisk her away to stargaze!"

The brown-haired man nodded towards the enthusiastic man—entrusting him with Sai's future (for better or worse). For once, he is glad Lee is around with his unlimited energy and faith in humankind.

"And _you_," He turns to the other brooding boy, on a roll with his consulting skills. "You need to grow some balls and just _apologize _to the damn woman before she breaks all of us in half!"

"I didn't _do _anything."

"Then why'd she kick you out to the dog house?"

Sai tilts his head in confusion and Lee leans over and whispers, "It's a figure of speech."

"But she's _mad _at you."

"And how do _you _know?"

Kiba harrumphs and laughs directly in the Uchiha's face. "I may not be able to read minds but I can _smell_—and I smell _bottled up woman-anger _and it's mostly directed at you."

Sasuke frowns, knowing quite well Kiba is onto something—but he did _not _want to admit that the adept senor is correct, given that under most circumstances, the dog-boy is usually wrong.

"Fine, don't admit that I am right. You don't have to because I'm the better person here." The Inuzuka sniffs the air haughtily. "But I still think you just need to go and say, 'Sorry baby I fucked up somewhere, please tell me what I did and I'll scrub a thousand wooden floors to repent my wrongness'."

"A thousand wooden floors?" Sai echoes in the background and Sasuke cringes.

"It's exaggeration." Lee whispers again and the ex-Root member 'Ohs'.

"Well boys? What's it gonna be? Are you still going to murder your savior in cold-blood?" Kiba smirks, crossing his arms in triumph at the confusion wafting off the other two.

"Hn." Sasuke sulks slightly and grimaces before turning to the fanged-man and narrowing his eyes. "Fine. If she has my head for this, I'm coming for yours." And with a swish, the Uchiha disappears over the alleyway walls and onto the roof.

"Uhm…" Sai pauses, unsure of what he's really supposed to do now. Apparently dressing up as Uchiha Sasuke's twin isn't a good idea—so he's going to have to scrap that. He hasn't really had to talk to Ino or anyone else much today but being able to say exactly what's on his mind has been quite liberating—so he'll probably continue to stick to that.

But to _serenade_ Ino? He didn't even know where to start with that. Heck, he didn't even listen to _music_. And he's not sure if grabbing her and kissing her is going to be a good idea. He'd read somewhere that intimacy on that level is only reserved for the ones you love.

Well.

He _does _love Ino per book definition of his current emotional turmoil (aka stomachache and heartburn).

So kissing her out of the blue should be fine, right?

And since _Kiba _seems to get a good amount of girls to go on dates with him…he's probably right then.

"So…what should I do?" The artist stares blankly at the other two.

"Don't worry, Sai-kun! YOU WILL HAVE MY FULL AND UTMOST ASSISTANCE IN THIS MISSION!" Lee enthusiastically shouts. "KIBA, YOU MUST AID HIM IN THIS SEARCH FOR YOUTHFUL LOVE TOO! IT IS THE SUMMER SEASON OF—"

"OKAY, OKAY!" Kiba sighs in defeat, covering his sound-sensitive ears from Lee's one-volume voice. The faster he gets this over with, the sooner he can lock in his own date to the summer festival the upcoming week. "Let's get you cleaned up and ready to spit some game!"

"…spit some game?" Sai squints at the terminology and again, Lee (who should probably win the community service award) starts to explain to the clueless ANBU about the wonders of figures of speech.

Inuzuka Kiba slaps himself on the forehead. The things he does to stay alive.

* * *

xXx

End chapter 5

xXx

* * *

Ohhhh…now it's Kiba's and Lee's turn to help…..and Ino's confused! Whoooo!

Thank you all so much for reading! I do enjoy reading the reviews and what you guys think…so go ahead and leave me a little message or love note ;)

Until…next time!

-Aya Kazuki-


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto!

* * *

Chapter 6:

* * *

"Bwahahaha!" Tenten chortles loudly, slapping her hand on the table multiple times. Her other hand rests on her stomach as she doubles over laughing and nearly snorting out the juice packet. Beside her, the Suna kunoichi shuffles around the table, cleaning off the stray paper and leaves on the stools for a place to sit.

Wiping a stray tear, she giggles as she wiggles her eyebrows at the simmering blonde, "B-But look on the bright side, at least Sai admires your anatomy." The brown-haired kunoichi barely finishes her sentence before erupting in another fit of laughter. Temari can't help but smirk alongside the brunette, shaking her head at the other woman's misfortune.

Ino glowers at them half-heartedly. Truthfully, the mind-walker _is _slightly pleased with the compliment from the dark-haired ANBU. But on the other hand, she didn't need half of Konoha seeing her either!

"So it _does _satisfy you that Sai complimented you." The weapons mistress slyly leers.

"…"

"Oh don't be an Uchiha prick right now." Tenten chuckles before mumbling to herself. If it isn't for Ino's impeccable hearing, she might have missed the last statement. "Hmm…at least it went according to the plan…"

Blue eyes flutter as she takes in the other kunoichi's words. "W-Wait, what? _What _plan?" Her head is already spinning from the day's events and she can't help but feel a bit suspicious now too. Tenten _had _shown up at the flower shop right when the blonde returned—as if she knew the timing, and asked about what had happened, as if she knew what did happen. And Temari is being a bit _too _quiet and demur for her usual behavior.

"Huh?" Tenten whips her gaze towards the blonde and shuffling a bit, the mirth in her eyes still dancing. "What plan? I didn't say anything about a plan." The corners of her mouth twitching. "I said 'at least he kept it in his pants'."

Ino threw her hands in the air; she absolutely has given up on the day already. She swears that wasn't what she heard the older woman say, but Tenten is just as stubborn as she is…and if her little voice is correct, there's something fishy going on and she'll have to coax it out of the weapons mistress with a few drinks later in the night…

"Go ahead," She rolls her eyes at Tenten and Temari, who are trying their best to smother their amusement, "Laugh all you want at my expense."

The brunette leans on the table, smirking. "You _are _wearing the cute panties too, aren't you?"

A light blush colors her pale cheeks and Ino snaps at the weapons mistress. "You've been hanging out with Kiba _too _much."

"I'm just saying. At least you aren't wearing your period panties or something when your dress flipped up."

"_Tenten!_" The flower girl chides, turning a slight shade of pink as Temari gasps from the lack of air from laughing too much.

"Because _no one _wants to see period panties. Sheesh. Sometimes even I get grossed out looking at my own."

Ino buries her hands in her face at the bluntness of the rambling woman.

"Ugh."

All three women blink, the 'ugh' sounded a lot deeper…

They had been so engrossed in their conversation—and Ino's embarrassment that they did not even sense the fourth person entering the small flower shop.

In the doorway stands Uchiha Sasuke, pale as sheet and looking a bit sickly. The dark-haired shinobi looks torn between ditching whatever reason he is in the flower shop for and manning it up and pretending he did not hear the last part of the conversation.

"Oh hey there, Sasuke." Tenten waves lazily at the Uchiha and Temari follows suit.

Lifting one nicely manicured eyebrow, Ino momentarily pushes her humiliation aside. "Hey Sasuke. What can I help you with?" The Uchiha had _never _been seen inside a flower shop in the entirety of his existence. And much less, hearing about period-stained panties inside a flower shop.

The corners of his mouth twitches before the dark-haired man spits out a simple, "Flowers."

The lifted eyebrow stays up at her hairline as Ino drums her fingers on the table.

Well…obviously.

"Well you're in the right place…" Tenten snickers, not bothering to filter her thoughts. "This _is _a flower shop."

Sasuke now looks like he's between smacking the smirk off Tenten and leaving the shop while his dignity is still intact.

The blonde sighs, watching the usually-stoic man have an internal debate and decides to help. After all, he is her best friend's boyfriend. Ino torments him enough through Sakura.

"Flowers for Sakura?"

Ebony eyes snap in her direction before he sighs in defeat. "Yes."

"I mean, they _better _be for Sakura…_right?_"

"Yes." The answer is immediate this time.

_Good_. Ino smirks inwardly; at least he knows when he's on the chopping block. Which makes her wonder if he's finally realized what he's done wrong and is ready for his atonement. Better late than never, right?

_Hmph. At least Sai knows my birthday._ She couldn't help but think happily before squishing it aside. Of course he did. Sai knows _everyone_'_s _birthdays. There really is no reason for her to feel that special. As fast as she had felt delighted, she was also let down.

"For Sakura." Ino mumbles and makes her way towards the various buckets of flowers, weaving together a colorful and tasteful summer blend and the other two women watch curiously from their perch. She picks up a few large pink gerbera daisies and a few orange roses and pink-orange bi-colored roses.

"Yes. For Sakura." He repeats monotonously. "To apologize."

Her lips twitches and she tries to hide a grin. Ino can tell from where she is in the shop, Tenten and Temari are also now paying a lot more attention than before. The blonde moves over to the accent colors and pulls a few green button poms and emerald leaves.

"Oh yes. To apologize…"

"For…yeah…" Sasuke mutters sheepishly.

"Yeah? For…?" Ino sets the arrangement on a set of paper before deciding on a red ribbon to wrap the bouquet in.

"…for…uh…"

"…"

"…uhm…"

"…You still don't know what you're apologizing for, do you?"

Sasuke let out an indignant snort, but did not oppose to her statement and Ino could only shake her head in exasperation at the cluelessness the supposed genius has. Well, everyone has their flaws, she supposes, and Uchiha Sasuke's is just as simple as being unintentionally the most oblivious boyfriend on the face of the planet. And that's saying a lot considering they have Naruto to compare to.

Another snort, this time coming from Tenten is heard and Ino can only hold back her grin—the last part of keeping the remnants of the now-sulking Uchiha's pride together.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you." She turns towards the dark-haired man, smirking knowingly at the scowl now playing over his handsome features. "But I'll give you this bouquet on the house." Ino winks playfully at him before turning him around and shoving him forcefully out of the store. "GOODLUCK!"

And with that, all three women fell into a fit of laughter—this time at Uchiha Sasuke's expense and Ino decides that it is _way better _laughing at someone else.

"That forehead girl. What a lucky bitch." Ino shakes her head, slightly envious of the attention the pink-haired woman is getting from her boyfriend.

Wiping a stray tear from her eye, Temari sighs deeply. "What, jealous?"

With a shrug, Ino strides over to the sink and washes her hands before resuming her spot at the table. "Kinda, actually. It's nice to have someone so dedicated, you know? And don't even get started about Shikamaru's laziness. At least you _have _someone to brag about." She plops down onto the stool beside Tenten. "It's just poor Tenten and me now."

"Oi, don't lump me in with you." The brunette chews on pocky sticks, picking only the chocolate covered ones.

"_What?!_" Ino sputters, turning sharply towards the weapons mistress. "How can you just leave me out in the cold like this?! Who is it?!"

Tenten rolls her eyes, "I'm talking about you, not me. Idiot."

"What?"

"Sai…name ring any bells?" Oh, Tenten can be so sarcastic when she wants to be and the blonde fumes slightly.

"I told you! There's _nothing_ going on between us!"

"Except that you like him and you're not willing to admit it." Temari reaches for the other assortment of junk food they have laying around.

She simmers in her seat, knowing full well the other two have hit a chord.

"I don't get it, Ino. You're not acting like yourself with this. Do you like Sai _that much_?" The older blonde raises an eyebrow, chewing on the gummy bears.

"What do you mean, I am myself!"

Tenten shakes her head, smiling knowingly at the blonde. "Not really. You're actually being _reserved_ about it this time. The usual Ino would have grabbed Sai by the neck and make him pay for dinner and a few shopping trips already."

She figures she's looking like a goldfish by now from the way the other two women are smirking at her. But they are right on so many accounts. Ino hasn't been herself with the Sai situation. She has never been the one to shy away from dating—or relationships and she usually is the first one to dive head in.

Why is it that she's so hesitant about Sai?

Because somewhere deep inside, does she really want it to work? Is she scared that if she jumps in head first like all her other relationships that it'll burn out just as fast?

Are her feelings for Sai more than momentary? Is she scared—scared of getting hurt? For _real _this time?

"I don't know, okay?" Ino sighs, laying her head down on the table. "I really don't know. I just don't want to be the butt of the jokes later when Sai decides he's had enough of the dating trial. I just—I don't know."

Temari reaches over and pinches her hard on the cheeks.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL!" Ino snaps up, swatting the other woman's hand away.

"Oi, quit moping. It's depressing." The other blonde grouses, "Besides, I have never met a man that has gone back so many times to get his ass handed to him if he wasn't serious about something."

Ino fidgets in her seat, knowing very well of the lecture the older woman is about to give her from the spark in her eyes.

"If Sai is just trial-dating, do you think he would choose you so many times? He would—and could have any other girl in Konoha to be his trial-girlfriend easily. It's understandable that he would approach you first—but c'mon, he should have learned by the third time when you broke his arm for getting a bit fresh with you—though I think that was Kakashi's fault—but you know where I'm going with this, right? Men don't have _patience _or _perseverance_ of that level if they are not serious. Ino, he's choosing _you_."

The blonde pouts, the message clear. She plays with her thumbs, twiddling them around before trying to form an answer that never came out.

"Now quit playing hard to get. It's your move to turn the tables on him. You like him and he likes you. Let's just leave those emotions at their most simple manifestation and ask him out for dinner, something intimate and violence-less. If it works out between you two, then it does. And if it doesn't, we all know where he lives."

Temari is correct. It's very unusual for her to be acting this way. She's been denying her feelings towards Sai for too long and life is all about chances. Although it hasn't been that long since the clarification from Sakura—but she can see the truth between the lines. This makes her reminisce every single thing Sai has said to her and not take with a grain of salt.

So why not take this chance? Her heart beats loudly in her chest and she thinks Temari and Tenten can probably hear it too.

What does she have to lose?

Why is she worrying so much about whether or not he's lying? Sure, he lied to her when they were younger—and there's a small chance he still could be playing her, but Temari has a point. He would not be putting up with all her dramatics if somewhere along the lines of his social ineptness, there is sincerity to it.

And she'll never know if she doesn't give him the time of the day. Ino had been too concerned about putting up her own walls she never considered the fact that Sai is trying to break his own down. She had shut him down without even batting an eye—to protect herself. She had dated guys she was never serious with because she knew it would emotionally cripple her.

Ino had welcomed any advances from would-be suitors, playing them in the palm of her hand until she was bored of their ways and tossed them idly to the side.

Now she is scared. Scared because she thinks that's what _Sai_'s going to do to her. Because of that thought, it never occurred to her until now that she weighs her feelings for Sai on a different level—she already unconsciously cares for Sai and cares of what Sai thinks of her more than she ever wants to.

But she'll never know unless she goes for it and lets him in—and Ino is never one to wait around this long before.

"I guess," She sighs lightly, shaking her head. It really just took them sitting her down like this for her to see straight. "It's my move now, right?"

"Yes. Now go!" Temari waves towards the door.

"_Now_?"

"Now!" Tenten mimicks a shooing motion with her free hand.

"But the shop—"

"We'll take care of the shop." Temari winks, "Go get'em, tiger."

"You guys know nothing about flowers!" She snorts indignantly.

"Doesn't matter. No one else besides from you does either. Now _go_!" Temari picks up her fan, motioning that if the mind walker isn't going to walk out on her own, she'll be blasted out of the store.

"Okay, okay. I got it!" Ino rushes up from her seat, grabbing her purse as she hurries towards the door. "Don't forget our spa date tonight!" And with a slam, she flew out of the shop and the other two women let out the breaths they were holding.

"Sheesh." Temari shakes her head at the brunette. "You _almost _let it slip."

Tenten rolls her eyes, "Whatever, it's not like it's really going according to plan anyway. You were supposed to let Sai come and ask her out. That's what Sakura told us. We were supposed to just convince Ino to give him a chance—not have her go track him down."

"I got carried away." The blonde harrumphs; grabbing the rest of the pocky from the other woman and munching on it. "Besides, men can't get anything done properly. If you want something done correctly, you do it yourself."

Tenten grins lopsidedly, "Are we talking about Sai or Shikamaru now? I think you're starting to get confused."

* * *

xXx

* * *

Rubbing her temples, she sighs, laying down the last report before she is to go report to Tsunade-sama. For some reason the Hokage has summoned her to the office in a couple of hours and she's been wracking her brain for reasons why. There is nothing for her to submit at the moment and she hasn't been on active duty outside the gates in awhile.

This project is taking her ages to complete. The documentations of everyone that had been injured and their injuries from the Fourth War are _almost _complete. Sakura had been working on it since the peace settled. There are not as many mission-related injuries since the warring states have stopped their quarrels.

There have been a few skirmishes here and there with ambushes from small organizations that are unhappy about the alliances—but none of those groups have proven to be of any threat and the injuries they cause are usually superficial compared to the ones dealt back at them.

So between developing new and efficient medical procedures, Sakura keeps herself busy with the general public's health consensus.

The mess is bigger than she originally assumed it would be and now she's left with quite a headache.

_Knock knock_

"Come in," She mumbles, resting her chin on her palm. If it's that intern nurse from the telemetry floor again asking about vital signs that she had been reading in the wrong units, Sakura's going to have a nice neck to wrangle.

Much to her surprise, Sasuke steps through the doorway, grimacing with every step as he holds the brightly colored bouquet awkwardly to the side.

"Oh, hey there." She stands up and straights out her white coat, "I didn't expect you here this early." _Isn't Sasuke supposed to be on gate duty with Sai? _Inner Sakura ponders.

"Hey." Sasuke's contorts for a moment before he gives her a small lopsided smile. "These are for you."

He thrusts his arm out, almost throwing the bouquet of flowers at her.

_Oh screw the gate duty, he got me flowers! _Inner Sakura fist pumps and Sakura feels her cheeks heating up. He's _never _given her flowers before.

The medic nearly squeals as she grabs the bouquet and latches onto her boyfriend.

Much to her surprise again, Sasuke returns the hug and pats her on the back and whispers in her ear.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you."

Sakura stares wide-eyed at the Uchiha as if he grew another head. Within less than a minute, she's gotten flowers, a smile, _and _an apology.

"Is this a dream?"

Sasuke pulls away and smirks at her. "No. I'm really apologizing…"

"Really." She glances over at the flowers, noticing the beautiful simplicity they held. Definitely must be Ino's work. Which makes her wonder; did Ino spill the beans for Sasuke?

The dark-haired man shuffles in his spot slightly before answering. "Kind of…actually…I still don't know why you're upset though…"

Sakura bites back a laugh, noticing now the slight blush on his grimacing features. Sasuke is _embarrassed_. And it is so ridiculously _cute_.

_Screw being upset at him, this totally makes up for it!_

Dancing on her tiptoes, she leans up and forward, placing a peck on his lips. The gesture he showed is more than enough to quell her for the moment. After all, she has to take baby steps with this one.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Sakura peers up at him from behind the bouquet. "You coming here to apologize means a lot to me. I'm not upset anymore."

The Uchiha just nods at her statement, though his expression shows he is struggling to form words. Judging from his girlfriend's current mood, she's still unaware of what happened earlier that day and he's not sure if he should break the news to her lightly now or let Ino do it later when he has had time to duck and cover.

"What is it?" She cocks her head to the side in worriment now. If Sasuke is unsure to say something, which usually means it's not _good_.

"…Sai and I had a disagreement…" He mumbles, not meeting eye contact now.

Sakura tilts her head in curiosity for him to continue.

"We…er…got in a fist fight…Ino fell…and flashed us…and we left the post…"

"_WHAT?!_" She screeches and the flower stems snap under her grip.

Sasuke winces a bit but clamps his mouth shut. The more he talks, the angrier Sakura gets. He has learned to just let her have her tantrums and break other things aside from his bones.

"I-I sent you two on the _easiest _mission to do!"

His lip twitches. "Sai's an asshole."

"He's your _teammate!_"

"He's still an asshole."

"I don't _care_! You guys left _post_! And I worked so hard to bargain a job for the two of you to do that would result in the least amount of teamwork! AND YOU GUYS LEFT POST! This is on _my _head, do you understand?! Oh my god, that's why Tsunade-sama summoned me to go in later today."

"_Sakura_."

The medic stops midway through her tantrum, the tone of voice she's _never _heard come from her boyfriend before. _Is Sasuke pissed?_ Inner Sakura pokes at her brain. _It's kind of hot…_

"I've had enough of hearing about Sai from you."

She pauses, taking the slightly strained tone coming from the usually reserved Uchiha.

"It's always Sai this or Sai that. Can you please just _stop _that while I'm in town? I want to spend it with _you_ and not you and Sai."

Aside from just being reprimanded like a _child_, his words rang through her head and it did make some sense. But the way he had his minor outburst makes her feel giddy inside and she stares up at her boyfriend.

"Sasuke…" Sakura notices the tinge of pink on his features and giggles softly. This actually is even _better_. She'll take Tsunade-sama's wrath any day if she gets to see this with it.

"Are you _jealous_?"

* * *

xXx

* * *

"I _cannot_."

"Yes, yes, you can! For youth, you _have _to spend this time wisely!"

"…I don't see how this matters…"

"This is the BEST time to worry about your image! You have to look COOL!"

"This doesn't look cool at all. Actually, it's appalling."

Kiba rounds the corner, his acute hearing picked up on the entire conversation and _now _he's curious. They had settled at Sai's apartment after picking up various items that Konoha's Green Beast demanded was necessary. And with that, the Inuzuka left the apartment for a bit to pick up some food. Munching deliriously on the delicious dangos, he opens the door to Sai's apartment and steps in.

"OH MY G—" The dango flies down the wrong tube. "_GACK_." Kiba falls into a fit of coughing, he can feel his face turning blue and—_NO_—he's survived much worse and lived through much worse to be taken down by _this_. And even if he is to die _now_, he wanted to die with the last image of a beautiful woman etched into his mind.

He can see the two blurry abominations rush to him at the doorway and the darker one raise a fist before connecting with him square in the diaphragm.

"URCK GACK!" The dango flies out of his mouth and Kiba falls onto all fours, an odd sense of regurgitating food hitting him. The brown-haired man feels like throwing up and he's not sure now if it's from choking on his food or from what he saw.

"ARE YOU OKAY KIBA-KUN?!" Lee blasts his eardrums and the Inuzuka winces, backing away from the green leotard-clad man…only to back into his savior.

Giving the other man a one-over, Kiba decides he's going to have to go claw his eyes out now. Or maybe ask Ino to wipe his memories.

"Sai, _what-what the hell are you wearing_?!" He whips his gaze around, trying to find a voice of reason—only to find it sleeping on the couch. "SHIKAMARU! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THIS?!" Kiba rushes over to the couch and rolls the sleeping man off roughly, jostling him awake.

Shikamaru blinks blearily up at the other inhabitants of the room, unsteady from being woken up so rudely. "What are you yelling about?" He yawns lazily, his gaze drifting from the panic-stricken Kiba to the confused Lee…and then to…Sai…

The lazy genius' eyes nearly pop out of their sockets and Kiba huffs, "It's bad. Why the hell did you fall asleep? How _long _were you asleep! I wasn't even gone for that long!"

"…Uh…Sai wrote a haiku instead because he couldn't write a full song…"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

The dark-haired ANBU stares at the two brown-haired men, then down at himself. "It's pretty atrocious, isn't it?"

Kiba and Shikamaru blink back at him, giving him the one-over. Lee had somehow managed to convince Sai into a tight one-piece black leotard, complete with blue leg and arm warmers and a blue bandana scarf circling his neck.

"BLUE WORKS WELL WITH SAI-KUN!" Lee throws thumbs up and immediately the other two resist the urge to puke at the sight of the unfortunate Sai.

"It's fucking ugly!" Kiba hollers brashly, not caring about the taijustu-user's feelings and reaching for the tight polyester suit and pulling. "Take the damn thing off, Sai! It's bunching up your junk weirdly and I don't want to see it!"

Sai stumbles in his spot, trying to pry Kiba's grip off his clothing. It's bizarre to have another man try to undress him. "H-hold on, Kiba. I can do it myself."

"YOU'RE NOT DOING IT FAST ENOUGH! I NEED THIS OFF!" Kiba screeches, the more Sai moves around, the more the suit material bunches up around his manly parts and the Inuzuka did _not _want to see any more of it. The damn thing nearly cost him his life earlier. "CHANGE NOW!"

Kiba sneezes suddenly and Sai backs away from him. "That's gross. You just sneezed on me."

"Dude, what you're wearing is gross. Take it off." The Inuzuka wipes his nose with his sleeve and then tries to reach for Sai again, who backs away from his grip.

"Don't touch me with your snot hands."

Kiba wiggles his nose. For some reason, his sense of smell is going haywire and he's not sure but none of the boys are wearing _perfume_ or cologne of any sorts to make him sneeze like this.

"The last things you need to worry about are my snot covered hands. NOW TAKE THAT OFF AND WEAR YOUR NORMAL CLOTHES!"

He lunges for Sai and grabs a fist full of the material, making sure chakra laced his grip and pulls, successfully ripping the top part off.

"Don't _touch_ me with those germ hands!" Sai spins away hurriedly and in an odd fashion, covers his exposed chest and torso with his arms.

"Uh…Should I come back later?"

All four men whirl towards the doorway that had been left open.

"Well, shit." The lazy man sighs.

Kiba has never seen Shikamaru move so fast in his lifetime. With a couple thuds, the shadow-user efficiently plucks Lee from his spot and grabs Kiba's jacket collar before making his way to the window and out.

The ex-Root member, quickly realizing he's been ditched laughs lightly. He's feeling quite exposed at the moment—and if the strange burning in his ears mean embarrassment, then this discomforting situation is exactly that.

"Hello, Ino-san. How can I help you?"

* * *

xXx

End Chapter 6

xXx

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading this! I hope it keeps you guys entertained a bit. I just recently found Naruto—Road to Ninja movie and I'm so obsessed with the opposite characters! It makes me miss Neji so much now! Haha, well a review, favorite, or follow would be awesome!

Until the next chapter!

-Aya Kazuki-


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

* * *

Rocking on the balls of her feet, she glances around the living area with contained interest. She's never been inside of Sai's place before. Honestly, it is quite different from what she had initially expected.

In her younger days, she imagined Sai's apartment to be an artistically designed bachelor's pad, decorated in a monotone of grey, black, and whites with his beautiful drawings hanging on the walls. The floor would be littered tastefully with finished and unfinished paintings.

After the revelation that Sai was not-really-but-kind-of-a closet pervert and an incredible blank slate in terms of personality, she erased her previous imagery of his apartment. Instead, she imagined it to be slightly messy—but the clean messy, not the dirty messy that was Naruto's place. He would have his clothes shoved into a basket in the corner, growing in number but he would forget to do his laundry at times because of his random fascinations. The walls would be white, but some splashes of ink would grace it, giving it some character. Art supplies would be littered around the apartment in a system of organization that only he would know what to do with what and where. Furniture-wise, it would be bare since he had seemed to be the simple type and the fact that he rarely had spent time home then.

Instead, his current place is nowhere near either of her beliefs. The corners of her lips twitch up in a sardonic smirk.

When she had the childish crush on him, she saw him with an exaggeration on his cool character, forcing her own vision on him. Then when her opinion of him slightly changed, she made him out to be a vacant person.

The girls had forced her eyes open, to see and accept Sai for whom he is and to accept that the heart will want what it wants, no matter what the brain tells it.

And the living area reflects the entire notion of his being that she had been trying so desperately not to see.

The assortment of mismatched furniture makes her giggle. She's pretty sure the couch is a hand-me-down from Kakashi and the ugly rug is definitely from Naruto since the blond went through a phase of weaving rugs in his sage mode for better control (she had one lying in her bathroom too). Unfortunately for Naruto, although his handiwork is quite good, the same cannot be said about his choice in colors and patterning.

Sai's paintings are not strewn all over the place but are kept neatly rolled up in scrolls and in a few baskets lying around. His art supplies, she assumes are lying in the wooden boxes stacked next to the scrolls.

Ino saunters over to the carved oak dining table set. Definitely a winning from a bet he had made with Tsunade-sama. She didn't expect him to go out of his way to buy such an expensive table that is an exact replica of what the Hokage had.

Tracing a finger around the rough edges, she glances at the variety of paperwork strewn across its tabletop.

A couple slams can be heard from the single bedroom down the hallway and she giggles lightly at the rush Sai seems to be in. She had suggested he find some new clothes to put on before they sit down and talk and the poor boy had taken off in a frenzy flight.

Tilting her head, one parchment lying on top of the other ones catches her eye and she pulls it towards herself to read.

_A poem?_

Quickly skimming the contents, the tips of her ears blush and she let her blue orbs scan over it again—this time slower.

He wrote a poem for her!

The idea of it makes her color prettily and she is torn between shoving the paper between the other ones or to continue holding onto it. From the hallway, she can hear Sai leaving his room and she throws it down quickly, her eyes darting around the room guiltily.

"Ino-san?" Sai emerges from the dark hallway, dressed in a simple pair of black slacks and a grey long sleeve.

"H-heyy…" She stammers, slapping herself mentally for sounding so foolish.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Sai faces her, ebony eyes staring straight into her soul—or at least she feels like he is and her cheeks flush.

"It's just—uhm—" Ino stumbles over her own words, her heart hammering in her chest. When had it been that she had been so _flustered_ while talking to a guy? In all honesty, she couldn't remember when her heart had fluttered so nervously and her palms sweating profusely as she talked with a guy.

"Are you okay, Ino-san?" Sai tilts his head cutely as he searches her face for clues. She nearly had a heart attack when he takes a step towards her to feel her forehead.

Okay, so she is completely red at this point. But what of it? What is she doing blushing and stammering like a lovesick idiot? This is unbecoming of her and it is exactly the opposite of what she had set out on doing. Ino is going to confirm with Sai that he does indeed like her and if he would want to go on few dates to see if they should pursue a relationship.

Taking a deep breath, she locked eyes with him and grabbed his hand from her forehead.

"Sai."

"Yes?" He blinks at her, confused at her current actions and unsure as to why her grip is still on his wrist. Ino nearly bit her lip, holding back a squeal.

The confused boy is _so_ cute!

"Sai," She takes another deep breath. "Do you like me?"

Blinking a couple more times before a wide grin spreads across his face and her chest flutters again. "Of course I do! I like Ino-san!"

Before he can pull her into a random hug—she's noticed he's been quite more touchy-feely recently—Ino pushes him back by his chest.

"Like me like _how_?" She needed the differentiation. "Do you like me like how you like Naruto or how Naruto likes Hinata?"

She can feel Sai pause from her question, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What?"

"I mean, do you like me as family like how you think of Naruto and Sakura or do you like me on a _romantic_ scale? Sai, there's a difference. I'm confused as how you think of me, Sai."

"I—I like you, Ino-san." She can see his hesitation as he fishes for words. "And I'm a novice at these—emotions. I can't exactly tell you if it's romantic or not because I'm not even sure what _romance_ is asides from definitions. But I think my feelings for you are different than a familial feeling…"

Immediately, she can feel her stomach drop. His reaction isn't exactly what she had expected. He's been so puzzling to her lately. Perhaps his own emotions are perplexing to him but Ino should be able to read him. And she can't. He is dodging the question also—his answer did nothing to ease her nerves.

He chases after her and proclaims he likes her but he can't even tell her if it's romantically or not?

_Breathe_

_Sai is still a greenhorn at this—of course he wouldn't know what romance is. Just ask him to describe how he feels_

_He probably can't put it into words_; she muses and hopes at the same time.

"You _think_?" A guess is better than nothing, she optimizes. But it isn't doing much to calm her nerves. If she tells him right now that she likes him romantically, how would he take it?

Of course he would jump for joy, she deliberates. But how long will that joy last? Finally dipping her feet into the waters of romance is a scary feat—and now she is getting cold feet.

"Ino-san. I know that my words do very little to ease this but I can assure you that I like you. _I like you_." He emphasizes the last part and she feels her resolve fade, and she dips her feet further into the waters.

Smiling, the corners of her eyes prickling with nervous tears. "I hope that—"

"SAI-KUN!"

A chorus of squeals can be heard and the two inhabitants of the apartment whirl towards it. They had forgotten to close the front door after Ino had interrupted the boys earlier.

There are five girls gathered at the entrance of Sai's apartment, all carrying gifts of sorts in their arms and from what Ino can tell—they are all dolled up to the nines.

_Oh hell no_

The blonde narrows her eyes at a familiar purple-haired female. Somewhere in the back of her mind she swears she knows this chick but faces and names aren't matching up.

All Ino knows at the moment is that Sai had somehow effectively gotten himself a horde of _active_ fangirls. She groans slightly before picking up her mask, the one she had used so effectively in rounding the girls up and away from Uchiha Sasuke back in her academy days.

Growling under her breath, she snaps her pretty blues at the other girls. "_Yes_?"

Thankfully Sai is choosing to stay silent. Ino will handle this her way.

Purple hair girl puts a hand on her waist and stares at Ino condescendingly, "We're here to help patch Sai up. If you're not helping then please go away." The girls behind her nod appreciatively at their leader.

_Ah, a fangirl fight. These will have to be disposed of thoroughly_

"He's fine." Ino glances at Sai. There are some scratches on his face but she's sure he's made it out of worse battles. The scratches are something she can handle quickly—and she's quite certain she isn't going to let these hussies near him. Not when she isn't finished sorting his feelings out. "You can go."

"As if we're leaving him with you, you _Yamanaka whore_." Purple hair sneers back.

Ino can feel a rush of wind from behind her, Sai flashing his scroll as he interrupts the girl's argument. "Please refrain yourself from talking in such a manner about—"

"Sai." She cuts in. Ino didn't need him to defend her. After all, she isn't anything to him…not as of yet. For him to fight _her _battle now is meaningless.

Yamanaka Ino does _not_ stand behind a man for security. Not against girls that are trying to steal him from under her nose.

Sai didn't need any other girls distracting him from her. Her chest clenches forcefully. Ino is already feeling overprotective of him.

And she'd be damned if she lets someone else disrupt what they're heading towards.

Sai is _hers_.

"It's okay," She flashes him a confident smile, one that she hasn't been able to do since she's been in his apartment. But at the moment, she knew this fight is one she can win. "I'll handle this—then we can talk."

"That's good." Another voice butts in and she nearly groans out loud.

"What do _you_ want now?!" Ino swivels backwards to the intruder lounging on the window sill. "Why the hell can't you enter a place like a normal person?!" The constant interruptions are starting to get on her nerves and the appearance of Genma usually isn't a good sign.

"I'm here to relieve Sai from the carnage that is about to happen."

"Really?" Sai turns to him expectantly.

"_What_?" Ino snarls at the Jounin. The rest of the girls gape from their spot at the doorway and Genma waves mischievously at them.

"Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you, Sai. And I'd recommend you leave this place before Ino decides to string up bodies." With a chuckle and a gust of wind, Genma disappears as quickly as he had appeared.

The dark-haired ANBU shuffles in place slightly, turning his gaze to Ino questioningly.

Sighing, she presses her fingers against her temples and waves him off. "Go, don't keep Hokage-sama waiting. I have to go back and find Temari and Tenten anyways. I'll take the trash out before I leave."

She flashes him a seductive grin as the other girls at the doorway protest at being called trash.

The boy nods slowly, "Alright, I will talk to you later." He makes a move towards her, arms outstretched as he tries to pull her in.

Ino blanches at his action, the touch of his hand on her arm makes her shiver in suppressed delight but the sudden actions took her by surprise and she jumps backwards nervously. There are people watching too!

Man, when has she gotten edgy about public affection?!

When has Sai ever gotten _physical_?

It delights her and confuses her at the same time.

"Go, go go!" Ino tries to hide the impending blush on her cheeks as she shoos him off.

Finally, he bobs his head in an affirmation and makes a move towards the doorway.

Suddenly he stops and his expression is unrecognizable.

"Sai?"

She barely had time to register and his body flicker technique is impeccable. A gust of wind blows in front of her and baby blue eyes widen as she realizes he's standing right in front of her.

Leaning in smartly, Sai pecks her lightly on the cheek as his own face turns a slight shade of pink. In a blink, he appears at the window sill. "I'll definitely talk to you when I get back, Ino-san."

And then he's gone.

Ino stands in the middle of his living room, awestruck and momentarily forgetting about the gathering if girls whining and wailing at the doorway.

The color has completely taken over her face and she feels her ears burning.

Sai's got some audacity and she's got to admit that had been a _really_, really good move on his end.

Hand on her hips; she turns around towards the other girls. At least she's in a good mood now. They wouldn't face her wrath _that_ much.

"Don't think I forgot about you harlots," She smirks devilishly at them and a couple cowers. Man, it feels good to be on the other end of the fangirl spectrum.

* * *

xXx

* * *

Tsunade sighs as Naruto wails out loud. The man-child continues to throw his tantrum and Shizune shakes her head sadly. Beside the Hokage and her assistant stood Kakashi and Shikamaru—the next Hokage and his appointed adviser.

"B-But Baa-chan, it wasn't my fault! Why do I have to go!? The summer festival is in a week and Hinata-chan told me she already got—" Naruto persists on rambling and complaining.

To his left, Sasuke can only glower at the situation he's been placed in. On his right, if Sai is ashamed of what had happened at the gates, he obviously isn't showing any signs of it.

Sakura heaves a sigh at her mismatched teammates.

"I'm not changing my mind. You three are to be deployed to the Amaya Island in Mizu no Kuni to help rebuild their houses after a terrible tsunami." Tsunade pretends to check out her nails as Naruto stomps in place.

"Why us three?! Why isn't Sakura-chan going with us?! Her monstrous strength is actually more helpful! And why isn't Kirigakure doing anything about it?!" The blond takes a deep breath before calming down, realizing no one is taking his tantrum seriously.

"Look, if I don't take Hinata-chan to the summer festival and show up at the Hyuuga Compound next Saturday, Hiashi-san is going to have my head! Or my balls!" He pleas.

Sakura muffles a laugh. Of course that's why he's getting his panties in a twist. There is _no _way to run from a Hyuuga once there's a price on your head.

"I can go and help too," The pink-haired medic offers, she actually feels a bit bad for him. And she can probably spend some time with Sasuke too! She hasn't been on a trip outside of the village with Sasuke in a long time. It'll be a win-win! "They probably will need medical help."

The other two boys on Team 7 stay silent—the smarter choice.

From beside Tsunade and Shizune, Sakura can't tell if Kakashi is even paying any attention and Shikamaru looks like he's sleeping standing up.

The Hokage clicks her tongue. "No, Sakura is staying. I have already sent a team of medics out. Kirigakure is doing the best they can but a few other islands in the area have been hit by the same tsunami so their forces are thinned out."

And as if she knew exactly what to get Naruto going, Tsunade adds, "Besides, think of this as a diplomatic move on Konohagakure's alliances. We are sending our future Hokage to help another country. Actually," Tsunade ponders, glancing at the sullen brown-haired boy beside her, "Shikamaru, you go with them too. They might need someone with ambassador experience."

Sakura watches in awe—the genius has perfected over the years the ability to _sigh_ with his eyes instead of his body. The effort of actually sighing is probably too much for him.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The three boys of Team 7 shuffle in place, Naruto's whining has been complacent with the explanation but his expression is still pouty.

"When you finish, you can come back. The faster you work, the quicker you get back here. Perhaps you'll actually make it on time for the festival." Shizune smiles widely at him, trying to lighten the punishment.

"REALLY?!" Naruto perks up and Sasuke groans. Dealing with one hyperactive blond is tiring. The Uzumaki is probably planning to Kage Bushin his way through the building process. Now he's going to have to deal with a hundred of them. "Can we leave today then?!"

"Actually," Tsunade leans back in her seat, "I need you boys to leave _now_."

"_Now_?" Sai manages a throaty sound and Sakura glances at him, the flash of worry across of his face perks her interest.

"Now."

Shikamaru furrows his brows; obviously the last minute decision is throwing a wrench in his plans also. "Why are we to leave so imminently?"

"I have arranged transportation for you fools to the island from where the former Uzushiogakure used to be. But it leaves promptly tomorrow morning at 8AM. It'll take you boys at top speed thirteen hours without breaks to reach there."

"But-but it's almost 5PM right now!" Sakura's eyes widened. They'll barely make it in time since they would need to pack and take a break or two.

"That's why I said, _now_." Tsunade glares at each and every one of the boys as they collectively groan at the information, "You all are dismissed."

In a flash, all four boys are gone, leaving the three women and Kakashi.

"See, Kakashi? That's how you get things done." Tsunade smirks in triumph.

In receiving no reply, she glances over at the silver-haired man. "Kakash—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU READING IN MY OFFICE?!"

Sakura slaps her forehead. Why is the entirety of her former team a bunch of idiots?

* * *

xXx

**End Chapter 7**

xXx

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Sorry for taking so long on this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! And perhaps…Kiba's methods are working more than anyone had thought….teehee!

-Aya Kazuki-


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto

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**Chapter 8**

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It had been about eight hours before they stopped for a quick break. Summer nights are a bit cooler than daytime, they thank the heavens, but it is still quite humid. The moon perches high in the sky and shadows creep around the disgruntled Team 7 members and their addition, Shikamaru.

The pineapple head genius yawns, slumping against a tree as Naruto continues to chug water. Sai rests on the branches of the highest tree, keeping look out.

Sasuke just stares at the rest of them with disdain—he is ready to be back on the move. Stopping in the middle of nowhere is discomforting to him as ambushes still happen regularly.

"Jeez, teme. Hold onto your panties and relax a bit." Naruto wipes the water trickling down his chin.

The dark-haired shinobi glares through the darkness, "We're only 5 hours away. We could have made it straight."

Naruto rolls his eyes at the statement, plopping onto the ground instead now, much to Sasuke's chagrin. "I was going to die of thirst!"

Glowering, Sasuke leans against another tree trunk. "Thirst would be the last thing to kill you if you don't hurry the fuck up."

"Shut up, teme. And hold up," Naruto whines before making familiar hand signals.

Immediately, a puff of smoke appears and in its place is a small messenger toad. "Naruto! How can I be of help?!" It wheezes.

Curious, Sai hops down from his perch atop to greet the toad.

The blond whips out a small scroll and attempts to scrawl in it messily. "Wait up a bit; I need you to deliver something for me."

"What the hell are you doing now?" Sasuke scowls even more—if that is even possible at this point. Adding to his vexation, he thinks Shikamaru is also asleep by now. The other shinobi is being too quiet and too still.

"Writing a letter." Naruto shrugs, nonchalantly.

"To _whom_? About _what_?!" Terrible timing. The Uchiha couldn't fathom what the blond had to write—or even to whom. They haven't even done anything except run across tree branches and scare wildlife for the last eight hours.

"To Hinata, of course. I'm letting her know I'll be back in time to take her to the summer festival." Blue eyes blinks at Sasuke before he tosses the finished product to the toad. Turning slightly, he salutes the animal cheerily. "Please deliver that to Hinata—not her sister Hanabi, okay? Thanks, dude!"

"To Hinata?" Sai muses aloud, still staring at the space the toad had been sitting on.

"Yep!" Naruto perks from his spot on the ground. "I didn't get a chance to find her before we left. So I'm letting her know now." The blond pauses slightly and in a moment of clarity and intelligence, he asks, "Were you able to find Ino? You should probably let her know you're away."

"Ah, I was not able to track her down. She wasn't at the shop or her apartment." He didn't think it would be that difficult to find the gorgeous blonde, but perhaps her being a sensor ninja, she was used to hiding her own chakra signature—unintentionally but very well. Sai pauses before continuing, "I should send her a message?"

"Duh!" The Uzumaki wags a finger in the air. Of course he will teach his teammate what it means to be in a relationship, because Naruto is benevolent like that. "It shows her that you care about her! Plus, she'll probably be wondering where you are too. And aren't you going to ask her to the summer festival?"

Sasuke grinds his teeth in annoyance.

This isn't getting anywhere.

"I see, that makes sense. I was going to ask her tonight…" Sai ponders a bit before he whips out his own scroll and starts to jot something down. It must be something quite complicated because before Sasuke could fathom anything else happening, Sai promptly sits down besides the blond.

"I _always _write to Hinata when I'm on a mission." Naruto continues to brag.

Sasuke continues to grind his teeth.

Are they on a mission or are they at summer camp writing letters home?!

"Do you want to use one of my toads?"

Sai pauses in mid-scrawl. "Ah, no, I'll be using one of my birds instead." And he actually remembers this time, "Thank you though, Naruto." He's learning that pleasantries are very well taken.

The blond beams back at him. "No problem! Your birds can find Ino?"

"Yes. If I know her chakra signature well, I can hone the bird to it." He replies absentmindedly and both boys continue to ignore the grating sounds coming from the other dark-haired shinobi. Sai then starts to draw his ink birds—from what Sasuke can tell he was playing with what design to make the birds.

From the other side of the clearing, Shikamaru lets out another snore.

The Uchiha nearly has an aneurysm at this team. One is sleeping, one is having an art session, and the third is the dead-last. Shit his life.

Naruto laughs, "Jeez, Shikamaru sleeps like he hasn't been able to get sleep at all. Then again Temari has been in town. Heh heh heh…" He wiggles his eyebrows at Sai, whom only smiles back blankly—quite not getting the dirty joke.

A couple seconds later, it finally hits Sai and he beams back at Naruto. "Ah! You mean he wasn't sleeping because he was having too much sex with Temari!" The other two members of Team 7 cringe at Sai's bluntness. They'll have to work on that after this Ino-business.

Sighing, the blond turns to his other teammate. "Hey, teme. Aren't you going to write to Sakura-chan?"

Ink black eyes snap towards the two sitting in the clearing and he replies shortly. "No."

"Eh?! Why not?"

"She was at the meeting with us, idiot. She knows we're gone."

Naruto opens and closes his mouth a couple times. The argument is solid—and good. But the blond isn't giving up just yet. "Well, you can just let her know you're near the pick-up spot or something."

Sai nods absentmindedly and Sasuke ignores the other boy who is now pulling out all his art supplies and whatnot. "It's not necessary."

"Don't be such a prick. Sakura-chan would want a letter too if Ino and Hinata-chan are both getting one."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. No she didn't. She's never asked for one before and she hasn't said anything about it—so it is unnecessary for him to go through that trouble.

"I told you, it's not necessary. And even then, how will I get a letter to her? We're in the middle of the fucking forest, Naruto."

"Heh. You can use one of my toads, since I'm being so nice." Naruto bats his eye lashes at Sasuke, who shudders with revulsion.

Suddenly, it hits him like a ton of bricks and Naruto narrows his eyes at Sasuke, "I mean, how do you usually send Sakura-chan letters when you're away?"

Sasuke answers snidely, "I don't." He didn't need to. Sakura knows he's very capable of handling himself. And vice versa.

The blond rounds on him. "What do you mean _you don't_? You don't _ever_ send her anything?!"

"No."

How is this so hard to get through Naruto's thick skull?

"Not even _once_?!"

"No." Sasuke grits his teeth. He's about to slam Naruto's head into the ground. Why is the blasted dobe being so persistent?

Eyes wide, Naruto gapes at Sasuke quietly. The blond's mouth opens and closes like a goldfish and then he suddenly clamps it shut. Blue eyes slide towards Sai's and the two share a telepathic conversation—which irks the Uchiha.

"_What_?"

Naruto squeaks.

"If you've been incessantly annoying this entire time. What. Is. It." The mission hasn't even started and it's already getting on his nerves. This is definitely going to be the reason he goes into the infamous Uchiha madness.

"You…didn't send Sakura anything for her birthday…?" Naruto furrows his eyebrows and lifts his arms in front of him protectively, a reflex from being on the same team as Sakura. Strikes can come from any direction at any time.

Almost like time stops for Sasuke—and Itachi's been dead so definitely not the work of that one.

Sasuke freezes in his spot, his eyes widening slightly as the pieces fall into place.

Her birthday.

Sakura's _birthday_.

He's racking his brain.

It must have been while he was away. But…but…_when _exactly was it?!

His lips thinned out. Sakura never really told him when her birthday is. Right? So it isn't his fault that…that…he didn't know when it is…right?

_Right?!_

"You forgot her birthday." It was a statement and all eyes fly towards the shinobi they thought was sleeping. Shikamaru yawns, fixing his slouch on the tree trunk. His eyes never left the grimace on Sasuke's face. "You forgot her birthday and that's why she's mad at you."

"You _knew_ why she's mad at me and you didn't tell me?!" Sasuke does what he does best—get angry at someone else.

Shikamaru scoff-yawns. "Not really. It came together just right now. You missed her birthday and didn't send her anything. Am I right?"

For the first time in a long while, Sasuke is at a loss. He sputters, trying to stand his ground. "She never told me when her birthday is."

"She doesn't need to." Shikamaru _almost_ lifts his chin at Sasuke. Be it that the pineapple head is one of the smartest people alive—he also is the boyfriend of one temperamental blonde and childhood friends with another. There are quite a few tricks and lessons he's picked up in the years. "You're just supposed to know—or ask."

The Uchiha glowers. Asking for anything is below him. He didn't need to _ask_. Sakura should have just _told_ him.

"So I'm just supposed to randomly know her birthday without her telling me?!"

"Duh! Birthdays are important to girls!" Naruto chooses this point to butt into the conversation. "Besides, who doesn't know Sakura-chan's birthday?"

"I know it!" Sai perks happily. Sasuke sends him a smoldering glare, which the ex-Root ignores and turns back to his scrolls.

In the silence, Naruto starts to laugh—it starts with a few giggles but he ends up rolling on the ground at a certain point. The Uchiha stands rooted at his spot, glowering at anything and everything in humiliation.

Gasping for air, the blond pulls himself upright. "Don't feel so bad, buddy. Sai knows everyone's birthdays." To prove his point, he turns back to the other dark-haired shinobi and throws out a random question. "When's Ibiki's birthday?"

"March 20th!" Sai raises his hand like a schoolchild.

"See?" Naruto smiles impishly at the Uchiha. "So don't sweat it. Just make it up to her now."

"Why the hell do you know _Ibiki's_ birthday?" Shikamaru wonders from his seat.

The ex-Root blinks at the shinobi before answering, without missing a beat. "Isn't it customary to know everyone's birthdays and send them a gift?"

As if they had forgotten the real situation at hand, all three boys furrow their eyebrows and ask simultaneously, "You sent Ibiki a _birthday gift_?!"

Sai cocks his head to the side. "Was I not supposed to?"

The blond face-palms. Shaking his head in disbelief, he turns back to his other emotionally-deprived teammate. "Well, Sasuke-teme. It looks like you'll be writing a letter now." And adding a smirk to the Uchiha's wound, he continues. "And I'll even let you use one of my messenger toads if you say _'Please help me, oh benevolent, smart, handsome Naruto, my future hokage.'_"

Sasuke pales at the requirement. He needs to write to Sakura—what he didn't know—and now he's not even sure if he should just wait until he gets back to the village or not.

"You can use one of my ink birds instead." Sai smiles widely at him and now the Uchiha wants to stab himself with his own kunai.

Pity. He did not need pity.

Shikamaru starts, pulling out a cigarette. The other boys are surprised he still carries them around. Temari and Ino double-teamed him once and they haven't seen him pick one up in awhile. "Pick your battles well and don't leave loose ends, even if that means forfeiting your pride."

Sai asks the question that the other two are wondering. "What do you mean?"

"Let her win. Come clean, apologize, and beg for her forgiveness if you have to. Because if you don't and you let this breeze over—it'll be held over your head for everything that comes up later. You think she'll forget. She never will." He lets out a puff of smoke. "_Never._" Advice he'd taken from his late father—and from experience of watching his dad get berated by his mom when he was younger.

Naruto pales, nodding numbly. A good thing he'll have tucked in the back of his head. Beside him, Sai also agrees whole-heartedly. It sounds awfully similar to what Kiba had been spouting earlier. Sai would have to give the Inuzuka more the benefit of the doubt. Maybe dog-breath did know what he is talking about.

Sighing in resignation, Sasuke also nods slightly, pulling out a small empty scroll he had tucked in his bag. Cringing at the words that are coming out of his mouth, Sasuke forces it. "May I use one of your ink birds…_Sai_?"

"Of course!" The reply is a bit too enthusiastic, but Sasuke ignores it and continues to unroll the scroll.

Pausing in mid-movement, he's at a loss. What should he even write?

"Don't apologize now. You need to do it in person." Shikamaru definitely is fit to be an advisor. "Just check in with her."

He pursues his lips, scribbling messily onto the parchment.

Finishing, he raises his head to see Sai waiting in anticipation and Naruto sniggering to the right of him.

A beautifully detailed ink hawk floats above Sai's left shoulder, clasping in its claws Ino's scroll.

However, hovering over his _right_ shoulder…

"What the hell is that?!" Sasuke's blood pressure nearly hits critical.

"A carrier pigeon."

"It doesn't look like one." He snarls and sends Naruto into a fit of giggles. The monstrosity is slightly rounder than usual with odd angles and juts. The wings are disfigured and peculiarly wrinkled as it hovers awkwardly and lopsidedly. Sai just beams back at him.

"Well, I drew it with my foot."

"_What_?!"

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xXx

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The girls lean against the rocks, sighing in relief. It hadn't been a particularly rough day per se—but quite a bit had happened in the last 24 hours. It is late into the night, which means the spas and bathhouses are quite empty and spacious now, giving them privacy.

"So, they all left?" Ino groans sadly. She didn't get a chance to see Sai off. From what her neighbors told her, he had come looking for her. Incidentally she was called into the Interrogation Unit for a quick fix.

"Yeah," Sakura mutters from her spot, sinking further into the water. "Tsunade says if they're going to cause a ruckus, they can go to another country and do it there."

Temari nearly chokes in the middle of her giggle at the statement. "Oh man, that's like being sent on a time-out. Instead they get sent on a country-out."

The medic manages a smile, loosening up a bit. "I guess so. Haha. It is kind of funny once you think about it."

Resting her chin on the rocks, Tenten turns a bit towards them, "But you're still kind of worried, aren't you?"

Sakura heaves a breath. "Well, can you blame me? I don't know if Shikamaru can do it. I mean, you're sending Naruto, Sai and Sasuke out there without the proper supervision!"

The two older kunoichis nearly burst out laughing.

"Oh ease up, Sakura. They're grown boys. Whatever oxymoron that is." Temari grouses.

Ino giggles, "I know what you're talking about though, Sakura. But Hinata, you got a message from Naruto before we got here right? What did he say?"

They turn towards the quiet kunoichi, soaking in the spa. "Well he says they're over the half-way mark and they're on time. Naruto-kun says they'll be back in time for the festival."

Hinata flashes a small smile to the other girls. Messages during missions are a rough topic with the medic. In the same instance, they all saw the slight grimace across the medic's features.

"Oh, don't be sad, Sakura." Ino moves towards the pink-haired girl.

Sakura sniffs slightly, huffing at the same time. "I'm not. It's not like I expect one anymore."

"Well, have you brought it up to him?"

Shaking her head she dips further into the water. She didn't want to seem _clingy_. But it would be nice if he did things once in awhile to show her he actually thinks about her when he is away.

"Then you should!" The blue-eyed blonde flounders in the water, trying to drag Sakura up from her depths.

"Look, if I'm doing this whole revision on my behavior towards Sai and giving him a chance, then you need to start to speak your mind to Sasuke!" Ino bellows and Sakura nearly turns the color of her hair. The Yamanaka is being too loud! "If you don't tell him how you feel or think when things happen, will it ever be fixed?!"

"…No..?" Sakura answers meekly.

"Exactly!" Ino crosses her arms and sniffs in triumph. "And besides, no one else here is getting a letter either." She gives a pointed look towards Temari as she tries to improve Sakura's mood.

The busty blonde shrugs, "Actually, Shikamaru came to see me before he took off. I'm alright with that."

"Okay fine. Point not proven." Ino glares at Temari before turning back to Sakura. "Sai didn't write me a letter either. Given that we're not dating or anything…" _But he did kiss me on the cheek earlier._ Something she actually hasn't told the girls yet. "But you know where I'm going with this! Sai and Sasuke, they're overgrown boys that just need a little push in the right direction!"

The speech eases up the medic a bit and she laughs lightly. "Thanks ladies. I needed this pep talk."

And they all giggle at the thought—who knew that they'd be able to live in such peace now? Though they've climbed the ranks of Konoha, they're able to get together and just _talk_ like this.

Hinata frowns, her eyes suddenly pointing towards the doorway to the spa house. "Something's coming…" She whispers. But she can't tell. She can see somewhat of a chakra movement but it's quite wispy and not an actual body.

Catching on next, Tenten whips her head towards the direction. "Do you hear that? It's an odd windy sound."

Before any of them can really register the peculiar wind sound and the random shrieks from the other patrons of the spa house, a large object floats through the door covers.

The girls all scream in surprise.

Sakura recovers first, realizing what it is. "It's an ink creation!"

Clamping her mouth shut, Ino peers at the intricately drawn creature hovering right above her. "Huh?"

"An ink hawk! That's most likely Sai."

Catching onto the drift, Tenten squints through the steam. "I think it has a scroll for you, Ino."

"O-Oh." The blonde is still speechless. The hawk hovers over the water, its claw outstretched to Ino, holding out the scroll. "Thank you…hawk-san…?"

As soon as she touches the scroll, the hawk flutters up; handing over the object and slowly dissipates.

Sakura glances over at her friend, whom is still awestruck at the situation.

The blonde blushes slightly as she moves over to the edge of the spa to tuck the scroll away. "I'll read it later." She mutters sheepishly. The entirety of her speech to Sakura is now scrapped. But another part of her leaps in joy. Sai sent her something. He's thinking of her as she's thinking of him. And the notion warms her heart.

Ino is slipping down the slope faster than before. However, it's not an unwanted conception anymore.

"Sai wrote to you." Sakura offers her a tight smile. She's really happy for her best friend—that everything is working out so perfectly well for Ino. At the same time, she can't help but feel a pang of sadness. She's scared—scared that if she pushes Sasuke too much, he'd end up leaving again.

"Look, Sakura. It still doesn't m—" Ino starts but is cut off.

"Something else is coming." Hinata cuts in softly, her eyes not leaving the doorway.

On cue, the whistling gets louder and another ink bird shoots through the entrance erratically. Unlike the first one, it flies irregularly around the room in circles. Temari and Tenten duck into the water to avoid it.

"W-What the hell is that?!" Sakura screeches at the odd pig-bird looking thing. As if it is looking for her voice, the bird stops in midair before switching directions and dives towards the pink-haired girl.

"Sakura, watch out!" Ino screams as Temari pulls her away.

The bird slams into Sakura, immediately dissipating into ink upon contact. It rains black ink over the medic, spilling into the spa and walkways. A hard object slaps her roughly in the chest and the girl coughs and screams. "I'm going to kill Sai!"

Seeing no reaction from her friends, she glances over at them. They stare back, wide-eyed. "What?"

Tenten gestures to the water in front of her.

Emerald eyes blink at the inky water in front of her.

The ink rearranged itself, spelling out: _From Sasuke_

And floating in front of her is the object that had unceremoniously smacked her in the chest.

A scroll.

Ino starts to laugh first, which causes her to join in and the other girls sigh in relief, also chuckling along with the duo. The blonde moves towards her and throws her arms around the Sakura.

"Maybe it's not so bad to have them go together." Ino giggles and leans her head on Sakura's shoulders.

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End Chapter 8

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Thank you for keeping up with this story! Feel free to leave me a review/comment/things you'd like to see happen…etc!

Until next time!

-Aya Kazuki-


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